Sign up for the paNOW newsletter

Family of Montgrand still seeking answers almost 40 years later

Aug 24, 2016 | 5:09 PM

Across Canada many First Nation families have been searching long and hard for their missing family members, some much longer than others.

Myrna Montgrand was last seen in La Loche on April 21, 1979 when she was just 14 years old. She would have turned 51 on July 21 of this year.

Montgrand’s mother searched for her lost daughter until she died. Her sister, Dora Laprise continued on her mother’s work, looking for answers about her sister’s disappearance. Recently Montgrand’s niece Myrna, who was named in honour of her missing aunt, has continued the search.

“I started about a week and a half ago. My friend kinda found something and then she told someone about it. That person came to me and told me so I said ‘let’s go,’” Myrna said.

What they found was a large plastic bag buried in the ground.

“People were (saying) something was wrapped in plastic coming out of the ground, and it’s been sitting there so long if you dig deeper it keeps going. It’s buried,” she said.

Myrna said after digging up the bag she made her first discoveries. She found a shoe, a lipstick container which she said looks like it came from the 70s, a bloody piece of carpet and some bones.

“Everybody said we should call the cops, but I said ‘maybe we should dig deeper.’ We got them involved, and showed them the stuff,” Myrna said.

She feels as though because her aunt’s case has been open for so long, RCMP didn’t take her concerns seriously. She said the expression on the officer’s face looked like the officer was about to laugh at her.

“I felt like it was kinda a joke to them; (like) they didn’t take it serious. They didn’t even have a proper bag to put the stuff in,” Myrna explained.

After 24 hours Myrna was told the remains weren’t human.

PaNOW reached out to RCMP for comment but did not receive a reply before deadline.

Myrna said she reached out to a psychic medium, who directed her to an unused path which is the focal point of her search now.

“I’m still searching. I feel like I’m really close on it. From talking to the medium, she’s been really helpful (in) communicating to (Montgrand),” Myrna said. “I wasn’t sure if I believed it at first, you know? But after talking with her and the things she was coming up with, it’s definitely some of the same stories we’ve heard. The way she was explaining it, it makes perfect sense.”

The medium outlined a map for Myrna, who then began following the trail. She said that the medium told her she would come across an abandoned house, which Myrna feels she has discovered.

Myrna said never went on the overgrown path before, but felt a strong connection with the trail.

“I saw something in front of me, it was black. I don’t know if it was a dog or a bear, but I believe if it was a bear I felt it would have stopped and turned around to look, but it didn’t do that it just kept going along that path. Maybe that’s her… I feel like I’m just right there,” Myrna said.

Myrna said she is keeping her search efforts small for the time being; she feels like too many people looking for clues may disturb the pathway. She’s working closely with some friends and family and once she finds some hard evidence she plans to take the investigation to the next level.

Myrna has reached out to RCMP victim services in Regina and is meeting with a sergeant sometime this week to discuss her findings so far.

“It’s truly a discovery in process. I’m not giving up until I find it. By talking and communicating with the medium, she says ‘you’re really close, you’re on it, you’ll have some celebration of closure in September,’” Myrna explained. “We’re really close to September, so I feel if I don’t give up, it’s right there. I just have to dig deeper or something.”

Myrna said she had a wide range of questions run through her mind when she was told she was close to a discovery.

“I just kept getting goosebumps, I don’t know what it was. It was in my arms, my legs, I just don’t know what it was,” Myrna said.

Finding Montgrand a life goal for Myrna

While Myrna may feel like the RCMP hasn’t supported her, she said the community of La Loche is outstanding.

“They’re really supportive. If you need a search team, they’ll gladly help you with it,” Myrna said about the community’s support.

When Myrna considered moving back to La Loche, she said her goals were to open a salon and find her missing aunt. She said she’s always had a nagging feeling about Montgrand’s disappearance and wanted to start looking into things.

“It took me like five years to get settled back into my hometown,” Myrna said. “There are stories that come out when I mention her, but the actual digging part, I just started. I haven’t dug anything anywhere ever. I just went with word of mouth, people talking and getting names out there.”

Myrna said she talked with a number of her older clients who remember Montgrand babysitting them. She said a few of them do what they can to keep her spirit alive within the community by speaking about what they remember of Montgrand.

Even though Montgrand has been missing for almost 40 years, her niece said she will keep looking for another 30 years if she needs to.

“I know I’m going to find her. It’s just a matter of when. I just want peace,” Myrna said.

 

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas