Thunder Bay

Candlelight walk marks anniversary of Indigenous teen's disappearance

Family, friends and community members carried candles into the dark, cold night in Kenora, Ont., on Monday in remembrance of Delaine Copenace.

Delaine Copenace was last seen Feb. 27, 2016, she was found dead about 1 month later

A group of about 100 people walked from Knox United Church to the area where the body of Delaine Copenace was found to mark the one-year anniversary of the night the 16-year-old disappeared in Kenora, Ont. (Jon Castell / CBC)

Family, friends and community members carried candles into the dark, cold night in Kenora, Ont., on Monday in remembrance of Delaine Copenace.

The vigil marked the one-year anniversary of the last time the Anishinaabe teen was seen, just steps from her home, on Feb. 27, 2016.

The solemn procession walked to the spot where Copenace's body was found on March 22, 2016, in the water, just metres from the provincial police station in downtown Kenora.

Holding candles up high against the dark sky, the crowd of about 100 people shouted: "We love you Delaine."
The crowd shouted: 'We love Delaine!' as they held their candles to the sky. (Jon Castell/CBC)

"I still have so many questions," said Copenace's mother, Anita Ross, as she stood on a snow bank, addressing the crowd. "I want justice for my daughter."

The coroner determined Copenace died accidentally, but Ross said there has been little explanation for how her daughter's body turned up in a location that had been so well combed by searchers.

Ross said she'd like police to continue investigating the circumstances that led to Copenace's disappearance and death.

"Somebody out there knows something " Ross said.
Many of the walkers wore jingle dresses or ribbon skirts to honour the memory of Delaine Copenace. (Jon Castell / CBC)