Posted By EXPOSITOR STAFF
July 5, 2008
Friends and family will be walking in memory of Tashina General today to raise awareness of violence against aboriginal women.
The 21-year-old Six Nations woman was found dead in April, after she had been missing for two months. General, who was pregnant at the time of her disappearance, had been strangled.
A former boyfriend, Kent Owen Hill, has been charged with second degree murder. Beverley Jacobs, president
of the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC), will be participating in the walk, which begins at 10 a. m. Groups will be walking from the north, south, east and west and converging at Veteran's Park in Ohsweken for a tree planting ceremony.
A potluck lunch will follow at the community hall. Speakers will include Elva Jamieson, Louise McDonald and Jake Swamp. Jacobs will also be making a presentation on NWAC's Sisters in Spirit initiative.
Brantford Expositor
http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1101333
Saturday, July 5
Impossible to forget
Four years after her mysterious disappearance, Tamra Keepness holds a special place in the hearts of many people who just want to know what happened to the smiling five-year-old.
The Leader-Post
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Four years ago tomorrow, there began one of the most wrenching stories in Regina's history: the hunt for any trace of a five-year-old girl named Tamra Keepness, who was reported missing from her Core-area home on July 6, 2004.
Despite a massive police investigation and civilian searches of areas in and around Regina, plus international media coverage and a $25,000 reward, no trace of her has been found -- so far. The Regina Police Service has calculated that 1,500 tips were received and 1,000 separate tasks were assigned to investigators. Police services as far away as Quebec were asked to check tips, said former Regina police chief Cal Johnston, who at one point remarked, "It could be just one tip that could make the difference."
Tamra's story gripped Regina, indeed all of Saskatchewan, with a rare poignance and intensity.
Quite properly, the story of her disappearance has remained in the public consciousness. The Regina Police Service recently announced it is forming a seven-investigator unit to review the case and to start putting information relating to the investigation into a new computer database that, it is thought, might possibly yield some new insights. Various groups regularly hold public events to remind citizens that Tamra -- along with many other people -- are still missing in this province, and that anybody with information should take it to the police.
Why did Tamra's disappearance so transfix Regina? It's very simple; people of all backgrounds recognize the vulnerability of children and worry about them. In the case of Tamra and her siblings, people also abhorred the conditions in which they had been living.
When a child disappears -- especially for such a long period -- many people fear the worst. One of the few heartening aspects of this sad drama has been the diligence of police in continuing their
investigation and the way in which civilian volunteers have joined the search and the important process of keeping this case imprinted in the public's collective memory.
In addition to Tamra, we should all worry about every single person -- regardless of their background or age -- who is missing from their family and friends. We note with sadness the recent discovery of the remains of Fort Qu'Appelle's Amber Redman, missing for almost three years. Two men have been charged in connection with her death. Powerfully and poignantly, her mother said: "In order for justice to be served, those with information must share it with the police. There has been too much silence from those with knowledge . . ."
Each absence leaves a big hole in somebody's heart. Each missing person deserves the dignity of being remembered and sought; each worried family needs to know their loved one is not forgotten.
As year five of the search for Tamra begins, it is useless for outsiders to speculate on what might have happened to her; far better for people who have information on any missing person to report it to police.
"Too much silence" must end.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008
The Leader-Post
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Four years ago tomorrow, there began one of the most wrenching stories in Regina's history: the hunt for any trace of a five-year-old girl named Tamra Keepness, who was reported missing from her Core-area home on July 6, 2004.
Despite a massive police investigation and civilian searches of areas in and around Regina, plus international media coverage and a $25,000 reward, no trace of her has been found -- so far. The Regina Police Service has calculated that 1,500 tips were received and 1,000 separate tasks were assigned to investigators. Police services as far away as Quebec were asked to check tips, said former Regina police chief Cal Johnston, who at one point remarked, "It could be just one tip that could make the difference."
Tamra's story gripped Regina, indeed all of Saskatchewan, with a rare poignance and intensity.
Quite properly, the story of her disappearance has remained in the public consciousness. The Regina Police Service recently announced it is forming a seven-investigator unit to review the case and to start putting information relating to the investigation into a new computer database that, it is thought, might possibly yield some new insights. Various groups regularly hold public events to remind citizens that Tamra -- along with many other people -- are still missing in this province, and that anybody with information should take it to the police.
Why did Tamra's disappearance so transfix Regina? It's very simple; people of all backgrounds recognize the vulnerability of children and worry about them. In the case of Tamra and her siblings, people also abhorred the conditions in which they had been living.
When a child disappears -- especially for such a long period -- many people fear the worst. One of the few heartening aspects of this sad drama has been the diligence of police in continuing their
investigation and the way in which civilian volunteers have joined the search and the important process of keeping this case imprinted in the public's collective memory.
In addition to Tamra, we should all worry about every single person -- regardless of their background or age -- who is missing from their family and friends. We note with sadness the recent discovery of the remains of Fort Qu'Appelle's Amber Redman, missing for almost three years. Two men have been charged in connection with her death. Powerfully and poignantly, her mother said: "In order for justice to be served, those with information must share it with the police. There has been too much silence from those with knowledge . . ."
Each absence leaves a big hole in somebody's heart. Each missing person deserves the dignity of being remembered and sought; each worried family needs to know their loved one is not forgotten.
As year five of the search for Tamra begins, it is useless for outsiders to speculate on what might have happened to her; far better for people who have information on any missing person to report it to police.
"Too much silence" must end.
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2008
Thursday, July 3
COPY OF RESPONSE TO PETITION FOR ADULTS MISSING by the Minister of Public Safety, Stockwell Day
COPY OF RESPONSE TO PETITION FOR ADULTS MISSING by the Minister of Public, Safety Stockwell Day
dated April 30, 2008
Petition No 392-0617
By/ID Ms. Crowder
Public Safety Canada (PS)
The Government of Canada is concerned with addressing the issue of missing persons. A
federal/provincial territorial working group has been mandated to establish best practices in dealing with the
disappearance, homicide, and serial murder of at-risk women. The working group is also considering issues
associated with the effective identification, investigation and prosecution of these cases. The Government looks
forward to receiving the Working Group report so it can address and help combat the problem of missing persons in Canada.
Deputy Ministers Responsible for Justice from across Canada recently considered the "Final Report of the Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons" at their June 2008 meeting, which included a recommendation for the creation of a voluntary national information base or linked information bases on potential missing persons. Deputy Ministers Responsible for Justice have tasked their officials to determine appropriate follow up to this report and the issue of missing persons was requested to be added to the agenda of the Ministers Responsible for Justice meeting in September.
In addition, the National Crime prevention Centre (NCPC) supports crime prevention initiatives that reduce known risk factors in high-crime areas and among vulnerable populations. Recognizing the need for effective interventions, the NCPC has committed to supporting initiatives that address key risk factors among families, children and youth.
The RCMP also works with other Canadian police forces to resolve crimes against missing or murdered women. For example, the RCMP is involved in Project Even-handed with the Vancouver Police Department and project KARE with the Edmonton Police Service. In addition to actively investigating all cases of missing women, these projects are developing "best practices" that can be implemented by similiar initiatives across the country.
The Government of Canada will continue to work closely with provincial and territorial partners on these issues to ensure a national, coordinated appproach that will provide an appropriate response to this complex problem.
* If you would like to leave a comment regarding the above, you can email me at
patc@shaw.ca and/or to Jean Crowder, Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Cowichan at jean@jeancrowder.ca
** For Your Information, Jean Crowder and her assistant Allistair MacGregor are going to write a reply to the above government's reponse regarding the petition, c/o Hon. Stockwell Day, Justice Dept. Govenment of Canada.
dated April 30, 2008
Petition No 392-0617
By/ID Ms. Crowder
Public Safety Canada (PS)
The Government of Canada is concerned with addressing the issue of missing persons. A
federal/provincial territorial working group has been mandated to establish best practices in dealing with the
disappearance, homicide, and serial murder of at-risk women. The working group is also considering issues
associated with the effective identification, investigation and prosecution of these cases. The Government looks
forward to receiving the Working Group report so it can address and help combat the problem of missing persons in Canada.
Deputy Ministers Responsible for Justice from across Canada recently considered the "Final Report of the Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons" at their June 2008 meeting, which included a recommendation for the creation of a voluntary national information base or linked information bases on potential missing persons. Deputy Ministers Responsible for Justice have tasked their officials to determine appropriate follow up to this report and the issue of missing persons was requested to be added to the agenda of the Ministers Responsible for Justice meeting in September.
In addition, the National Crime prevention Centre (NCPC) supports crime prevention initiatives that reduce known risk factors in high-crime areas and among vulnerable populations. Recognizing the need for effective interventions, the NCPC has committed to supporting initiatives that address key risk factors among families, children and youth.
The RCMP also works with other Canadian police forces to resolve crimes against missing or murdered women. For example, the RCMP is involved in Project Even-handed with the Vancouver Police Department and project KARE with the Edmonton Police Service. In addition to actively investigating all cases of missing women, these projects are developing "best practices" that can be implemented by similiar initiatives across the country.
The Government of Canada will continue to work closely with provincial and territorial partners on these issues to ensure a national, coordinated appproach that will provide an appropriate response to this complex problem.
* If you would like to leave a comment regarding the above, you can email me at
patc@shaw.ca and/or to Jean Crowder, Member of Parliament for Nanaimo-Cowichan at jean@jeancrowder.ca
** For Your Information, Jean Crowder and her assistant Allistair MacGregor are going to write a reply to the above government's reponse regarding the petition, c/o Hon. Stockwell Day, Justice Dept. Govenment of Canada.
Wednesday, July 2
Walk4Justice close to Edmonton
Group walking from Vancouver to Ottawa to bring attention to murdered and missing women
Jamie Hall
edmontonjournal.com
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
EDMONTON - The stretch of Highway 16 leading into Edmonton proved to be an emotional road today for the 20 or so walkers accompanying a small convoy of slow-moving vehicles overlaid with pictures of dozens of young women.
Like the 70 or so women in Alberta whose files are now with investigators of Project Kare, the ones depicted on the vehicles have been murdered or have disappeared, many of them along a lonely stretch of road in British Columbia which has become known as the Highway of Tears.
"It was particularly emotional for us; we know there have been women in the Edmonton area who have fallen prey to whoever's out there," said Bernie Williams.
"We understand the pain of their friends and families."
Williams and Gladys Radek, whose niece Tamara Lynn Chipman has been missing for almost three years, co-founded the Walk4Justice, a group which set out from Vancouver on a cross-country march to Ottawa on June 21, National Aboriginal Day.
The group plans to hold a rally Sept. 15 on Parliament Hill to demand a full public inquiry into the "scandal" of missing Canadian women, which they estimate to be about 3,000.
"I look at this as Canada's dirty little secret," said Williams of the missing women, many of whom are aboriginal.
The Walk4Justice group will be in Edmonton Thursday night at the Canadian Native Friendship Centre for what organizers are calling "an evening of sharing, solidarity and music."
Williams said their journey so far has been "phenomenal," support for their cause coming from residents of the towns through which they've passed, and motorists drawn to the convoy by the faces depicted on the vehicles.
"When we went through Barriere a woman came up to us and started to cry; she recognized one of the faces on our vehicles as a childhood friend she knew in school," said Williams.
"It was really heart-wrenching."
jhall@thejournal.canwest.com
© Edmonton Journal 2008
Jamie Hall
edmontonjournal.com
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
EDMONTON - The stretch of Highway 16 leading into Edmonton proved to be an emotional road today for the 20 or so walkers accompanying a small convoy of slow-moving vehicles overlaid with pictures of dozens of young women.
Like the 70 or so women in Alberta whose files are now with investigators of Project Kare, the ones depicted on the vehicles have been murdered or have disappeared, many of them along a lonely stretch of road in British Columbia which has become known as the Highway of Tears.
"It was particularly emotional for us; we know there have been women in the Edmonton area who have fallen prey to whoever's out there," said Bernie Williams.
"We understand the pain of their friends and families."
Williams and Gladys Radek, whose niece Tamara Lynn Chipman has been missing for almost three years, co-founded the Walk4Justice, a group which set out from Vancouver on a cross-country march to Ottawa on June 21, National Aboriginal Day.
The group plans to hold a rally Sept. 15 on Parliament Hill to demand a full public inquiry into the "scandal" of missing Canadian women, which they estimate to be about 3,000.
"I look at this as Canada's dirty little secret," said Williams of the missing women, many of whom are aboriginal.
The Walk4Justice group will be in Edmonton Thursday night at the Canadian Native Friendship Centre for what organizers are calling "an evening of sharing, solidarity and music."
Williams said their journey so far has been "phenomenal," support for their cause coming from residents of the towns through which they've passed, and motorists drawn to the convoy by the faces depicted on the vehicles.
"When we went through Barriere a woman came up to us and started to cry; she recognized one of the faces on our vehicles as a childhood friend she knew in school," said Williams.
"It was really heart-wrenching."
jhall@thejournal.canwest.com
© Edmonton Journal 2008
Tuesday, July 1
Teen lost to the streets
Mom: 'She can have sex with a 60-year-old man at 14'
By TAMARA CHERRY, SUN MEDIA
July 1, 2008
"We need some dead kids."
-- Det. Wendy Leaver, on what it will take to fix the system
Kay wanted to burn the tiny shorts and sky-high stilettos her 16-year-old daughter unpacked after returning home last Christmas.
Soon after her arrival, Charlie was snorting cocaine in her bedroom and coming home late for her court-imposed curfew. So much for the law.
The morning of Jan. 6, after coming home late, she argued with her mom and left.
Kay got a call from Charlie's friend at an escort agency in a Kitchener house, saying Charlie was there the night before.
"I sat outside and I watched and I watched because that house was the only link I had to my daughter," Kay recalls.
The next month she got a text message from Charlie.
"I'm so sorry. I'm too far gone now. You need to forget about me. Get on with your life," it said. "It's a bad world out there, you don't want to be part of this, mom."
Kay doesn't understand why a habitual runaway who has long showcased the signs of destruction couldn't have been saved before this.
"Maybe I was naive," she says. "I didn't know that these laws weren't here to protect me. I didn't know my daughter could go live wherever she wants when she's 12, that she can have sex with a 60-year-old man at 14 if she wants to. Why is that allowed?"
March 6, Charlie met Kay for coffee.
She sat down and said, "It's all your f----in' fault." She was upset her mom had remarried. She wanted it to be just the two of them.
The teen stormed out; Kay called police.
Within minutes, Charlie was found with five ecstasy pills, seven blocks of crack cocaine and a boyfriend with a record a mile long.
Charlie was held in custody until April 21, during which she called her mother to confess she had a daughter of her own when she was 15 and that the father was taking care of her. She said she had the baby Dec. 18, 2006 -- exactly a year before she was found working at a Toronto strip joint.
To this day, Kay doesn't know if the story is true, false or something in between.
Charlie was released from custody with probation orders but no address to report to.
"Where do you think she's going to go? Right back to the johns," Kay says. "She's dead before she walks out of the courtroom door."
That week, a 60-year-old man paid her $200 for a blow job.
The last time Kay saw her daughter was May 2. She told Charlie she didn't want her at home if she was going to snort cocaine a room away from her 4-year-old son. But she couldn't leave her baby on the street.
"My hands are tied," she told her daughter. "I can't force you into treatment. I can't force you to get medical help. I can't force you to do anything."
"I'm tired of watching you kill yourself," she said. "You've got to choose."
Charlie asked for a ride to the bus stop. She got out, turned around, said, "Thanks for f---in' nothing," slammed the door and left.
So it's back to the hunt. Back to posting pictures around the city. And back to calling the phone numbers written on the four back-to-back pages of paper before her -- numbers Kay's husband got from Charlie's cell phone when she was in custody once.
It's back to heart-breaking notes left by her daughter on Facebook. Like this one:
"Happy Mothers (sic) Day to all the mothers out there who are having a rough life ... time will heal all ... I love you and happy mothers (sic) day."
Kay's husband recently found Charlie on MySpace, where she goes by another name, says she is 19 and born in Kingston, but lives in Toronto. False, false, false, maybe true. Pictures are posted of her in underwear or skimpy lingerie.
"I don't care how old she is; she's my kid," Kay says. "I'll be damned if I'm burying my kid."
She laments the fact that closure may not come in anything but a body bag.
"I don't have an end. And when I close my eyes and see what's happening to her, it's horrible."
- - -
Officers in the Special Victims Section of the Toronto Police Sex Crimes Unit can't help but point out that many of Robert Pickton's butchered hookers likely started on the streets as young teens.
And yet the question remains: How do you control a teen who can't be called a criminal, even though she may be killing herself?
The Child and Family Services Act only goes so far, leaving much of the decision-making power to the child. So even if parents do care enough to fight for their children, they must fight with their children -- because there are few others with power to help.
"People look at us and gasp, 'What do you mean you can't do anything?' " Det. Wendy Leaver says. "If you can catch that kid at 13 and 14, maybe they won't have a life on the street at 16, 17 and 18 and be crack-addicted. But there's nothing; there's just a big, big gap."
They can't be thrown into jail; the system won't allow it. They can't be forced into a mental hospital unless they're threatening suicide or harm against others. And they can't be locked up for counselling if they don't want to be.
The cracks remain because, these cops say, this is the sex industry. Maybe no one realizes the problem is there; maybe no one cares.
"A missing child who is taken from their home or just disappears off the street is a major interest," Leaver says. "A missing child who is working as a sex worker or working the street doesn't seem to have that reaction."
Unable to fathom legislation that could save a teen before she's too far gone, these cops say the solution must come as a collaborative effort: Cops, judges, children's aid societies and parents working together, not separately, to save one child.
What will it take to make this happen?
"We need some dead kids. That's what we need. That's what works in this country," Leaver says.
"A judge's dead kid," Det.-Const. Leanne Marchen adds.
Until that happens -- and it very well could happen soon -- Det.-Const. Eduardo Dizon has this advice for parents like Kay:
"Maintain the lines of communication, as frustrating, disappointing, disturbing as it all is," he says.
"Just be there in every way, shape or form, because hopefully one day she will call and say, 'I want help.' "
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