Carson Poitras looks on as a billboard displaying his daughter's face gets set up with assistance from the Prince Albert Police Service. (File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Seeking closure

Solving the mystery: the challenges that surround missing persons cases

Sep 22, 2021 | 5:51 PM

Just over a year has passed since a large billboard overlooking one of Prince Albert’s busiest streets was erected, but the family of Happy Charles is no closer to seeing her in person.

The file is one of nine historical missing persons case being investigated by the Prince Albert Police Service. Happy Charles was 44 when she was last seen in the city on April 3, 2017. Carson Poitras, Happy’s father, told paNOW he remains driven to solving his daughter’s disappearance.

“We are still moving forward. At least we like to think so,” he said, while also acknowledging the family has experienced a roller coaster of emotions the past four years.

Poitras explained one of the challenges for families with missing loved ones, is not putting too much hope into a tip that may at first sound promising, only to lead nowhere.

“Some of them say she’s alive and at a certain location. It’s tough on the emotions,” he said.

2 New Directors

Getting to know the new members of the Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce

15h ago

warrant issued

Former Sask. Mountie, convicted of breach of trust, now accused of voyeurism and accessing child porn

15h ago

Aggravated assault

Dispute lands woman in hospital, man in jail

17h ago

Since the initial billboard went up last year in Prince Albert, two more have since gone up along Highway 2 between Prince Albert and La Ronge. Sgt. Kathy Edwardson oversees the Prince Albert Police Historical Case Unit and confirmed the campaign has indeed helped produce results.

“A lot is repeat information but there’s been some new information that came forward with that,” she said.

The week of Sept. 19 to 25 is Missing Persons Week in Saskatchewan and offers police a chance to help raise awareness to cases that may be decades old.

Last week police released details concerning Jean Lachance. The historical homicide case dates back to 1991. The mother of five was discovered along the bush line in a field south of Victoria Hospital. Edwardson said it’s been proven the greater the public awareness, the better the chance someone may call with information.

“I had several phone calls that next morning just on that file alone. Every time we put something out to the media we get information,” she explained.

A recent idea pitched at a Prince Albert board of police commissioners meeting was to change strategies for getting tips, and put the focus on the predator. One suggestion that’s been tried is distributing missing persons posters to correctional facilities in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

“Who knows maybe someone will know someone who knows something and they’ll give us some information that will help bring closure to these investigations,” Edwardson said.

In addition to the obvious impact these types of cases have on the families involved, Edwardson explained they also have an impact on the investigating officers.

“It’s hard like I don’t want to phone the families and tell them I dont have answers yet,” she said. “It’s not just a job. We are invested in these people.”

A current list of Prince Albert’s unsolved histotical cases. (Prince Albert Police)

RCMP face challenges with misinformation and “arm chair” investigators

Within the Saskatchewan RCMP, there’s ten people assigned to the historical case unit (missing persons and suspicious deaths). There’s an additional two missing persons coordinators who work specifically on the more recent files.

To date this year there has been over 2,000 missing persons cases reported, and there are over 160 historical files under investigation. Sgt. Donna Zawislak said one of the biggest challenges they encounter is making sure they have all the accurate information. She explained there’s been incidents where families or friends of missing persons may sometimes lie to protect the people they care about, which in turn can lead to a wild goose chase.

“If someone is really at risk that really can mean the difference between finding somebody alive or dead,” Zawislak said.

Acknowledging that the method of investigating has changed drastically over the past decade, Zawislak explained social media can either hinder or hurt their investigations. She added “arm chair” investigators may actually be spreading false information about a case.

“People think that we should be giving all the information out but people forget our ultimate goal is to not only find a person but if it’s a suspicious disappearance we will have to take that file to court and prove it in a court of law which can be challenging if we release all the information,” she said.

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell