‘She loves her family’: Saik’uz First Nation calls for support in search for missing members

Pam Heron describes her daughter Chelsey Heron (Quaw) as the most loving and caring daughter.

“It has been 24 days since my daughter Chelsey went missing, and we still don’t have any answers,” Pam said choking back tears. “She’s very loved, educated, hardworking…. She loves her culture, she connects with nature by walking her dog Pepper, she would have contacted me by now if she could.

“She loves her family. She would never leave us without telling us.”

Chelsey was last seen leaving her father’s residence during the early hours of Oct. 11 on Saik’uz First Nation near Vanderhoof, B.C.

The First Nation has spent weeks searching for Chelsey. They’ve organized searches in the community, in Vanderhoof and Prince George, prepared bundles to hand out filled with information and medicines — an idea that came from Phyllis Fleury whose son has been missing since 2018 — and Friday hosted a press conference calling for more support.

But Chelsey isn’t the only person from Saik’uz to have gone missing this year. Jay Raphael went missing on Feb. 26 and his family said his disappearance was also out of character.

“My son usually phones home every day; he went to visit family and then he never phoned,” Curtis Raphael said at the press conference. “I got worried; we phoned the RCMP. We had to wait two days to report him missing.

“It was very uncharacteristic of my son to not come home. It still bothers me and my wife every day that he’s missing.”

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Dozens of community members have volunteered their time over the past several weeks and while thankful, Saik’uz Chief Priscilla Mueller said more is needed.

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“We need to bring awareness to the disappearance of Jay and Chelsey,” she said through tears. “In both of these cases their disappearances are out of character and we are concerned for their well-being.”

In addition to bringing awareness, they’re also asking RCMP for more support, not just locally but provincially.

“There’s only so much that the local RCMP can do in their search,” Mueller said. “Our council met with the solicitor general’s office to put pressure on them to do more for the disappearances.”

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The community, along with Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS) and the Highway of Tears Governing Body, called for further response from the RCMP and additional community volunteers and resources to be deployed.

“I can’t believe we’re here again…. There seems to be little change since the Highway of Tears Symposium in 2006,” said Mary Teegee, executive director of child and family services at CSFS. “When we still have to have press conferences to ask for help, to urge people to come forward, it should be automatic.

“It’s not just an Indigenous woman, it’s somebody’s mother, somebody’s daughter, sister, cousin.”

Witset First Nation has also called for the RCMP to take action, in a letter they say “Indigenous people are far overrepresented in those that go missing and murdered.”

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While the RCMP declined to provide Global News an update, Staff Sgt. Kris Clark did say “we continue to actively investigate both disappearances, are following up on all investigative leads, and are making concerted efforts in hopes of locating them safely.”

“We also continue to ask anyone with any information about the whereabouts of either Jay or Chelsey to contact the Vanderhoof RCMP at 250-567-2222.”

Chelsey is described as a 29-year-old woman, approximately 120 pounds and five feet 10 inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes. She was believed to be wearing blue jeans and a purple winter jacket when she left her father’s.

Raphael is described as a 27-year-old man, approximately 143 pounds and five feet nine inches tall with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black coat, blue jeans, black runners and a baseball hat.