Angel Carlick's mother still waits for answers, 9 years later

Wendy Carlick has lots of good memories of her daughter Angel, but some of the most vivid are from the time just before Angel disappeared.

"She was just dancing around, 'I'm gonna graduate soon'. And then I was walking around with her. It was summertime," Carlick recalled.

"She was wanting to get her grad dress, her dress shoes."

Angel Carlick, 19, went missing around May 27, 2007, sparking months of exhaustive searching by friends and RCMP. Her body was found in November of that year, in a forested area near Whitehorse's Pilot Mountain subdivision.

Nine years later, Wendy Carlick is still waiting for answers. An autopsy was unable to determine the cause of Angel's death. A police investigation is ongoing.

"I want to know what really happened, and why."

Hopes for MMIW inquiry

Carlick is pleased the federal government is moving ahead with its inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women. She hopes more attention and resources will help solve cases like Angel's.

She recalls hearing then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper say in a 2014 interview that such an inquiry "is not really high on our radar."

"I wasn't too impressed with him," Carlick said. "My mother wasn't either. Because we were watching on the news when he said that. We both looked at each other and we just got quiet for that moment."

When the new federal government announced it would move ahead with a national inquiry, Carlick was relieved.

"I said, 'Yes! Right on! Finally.'"

Two months ago, her mother died and Carlick lost a major source of support. She says her mother would be happy to know an inquiry was coming.

"I wish my mom was still here," she said. "Now I have to stand up and speak for my daughter."

Police investigation drags on: mother

When Carlick talks about the ongoing police investigation into Angel's death, it's clear how helpless she feels, and how frustrating it's become for her, over nine long years.

"I keep looking at the cop station and walk by, wondering, 'What are they doing in that building?'"

She said police meet with her occasionally, but they don't tell her much.

"They said they're still on it, they're still looking into it. I just stand there and listen to them. What can I say?

"Every year I'm dealing with somebody different. I keep collecting their cards."