Loved ones looking for closure: Missing Persons Week launches in Sask.
Lorraine Yuzicapi says the body of her great granddaughter, Richele Bear, has never been found
This week's highlight of missing people in Saskatchewan is hitting close to home for elder Lorraine Yuzicapi.
Her great granddaughter Richele Bear disappeared several years ago. Clayton Eichler was found guilty of killing Bear, though her body was never found.
"I see the granddaughter, Michele, pleading to this man to tell them where her body is," Yuzicapi said.
"We have to keep on having that and praying for that, you know, we'd find her body so they can put some kind of a closure to it."
There are nearly 130 long-term missing people in Saskatchewan in the spotlight for Missing Persons Week.
Representatives from government, police and advocacy groups came together to draw attention to the issue in Regina on Monday, for the week's opening event.
Rick Bourassa was at the event representing the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police.
He said police and RCMP in the province have robust reactive processes in place, but they're still not always effective.
"We're not satisfied, and that's why we're moving forward with new initiatives across the province. Until we're 100 per cent effective we will never be satisfied," Bourassa said.
Some of those new initiatives include gaining better access to social media accounts when a person goes missing, or the use of drones to track people down.
Other proactive initiatives include the expansion of police and crisis teams, as well as child abuse teams.
"A lot of that work can focus on addressing individuals and families, some of the factors they may be facing that might lead them to be more vulnerable to be missing persons," Bourassa said.
Events for missing persons continue all week.