Family members, including Happy Charles's daughters, pose for a picture beneath the new billboard. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D'Andrea

Missing Persons Week

Missing Persons Week: What you should know

Sep 17, 2020 | 5:00 PM

The Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) wanted to debunk some commonly misconstrued myths around missing persons during a Missing Persons Week.

Mikayla Worth, the missing person liaison with the PAPS Victims Services Unit, wants everybody to know that you don’t have to wait a full 24 hours before reporting a missing person.

“That 24 hours is a lot of time with an investigation, especially in that beginning phase. That’s something that I push out every opportunity,” Worth said during an online press conference with media Thursday. “And you don’t have to be a direct family member to report an individual missing. If you’re someone like a teacher, or a friend, or even a neighbour that knows an individual’s habits pretty well, and all of sudden something’s not right or something’s different, you can report them missing. You can.”

And Sgt. Darren Androsoff, who works with the HUB and Police and Crisis Team Unit, wants everyone to know that “all information is good information.” Even if a small piece of information could seem insignificant to some, that little morsel may be the last piece of the puzzle police need to solve a case.

“If there’s somebody out there… that sees an investigation in a missing persons case or otherwise and they have a small piece of information they think is insignificant or might not make a difference. When you compare that piece of information with all the other tips and evidence and facts that have been learned through a variety of different means, it could mean the difference of getting a clear picture of that puzzle, and somebody might not know that,” Androsoff said.

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Looking at the numbers

According to the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police, there are 133 missing persons in the province — 96 are male and 37 are female, and 71 are Caucasian while 60 are of Indigenous descent and two are of a visible minority.

There are 10 people from Prince Albert that are currently missing, with the earliest being June Ann Johnson who has been missing since Aug. 3, 1979.

Many missing persons cases are difficult to solve, as physical evidence can be difficult to come by. Police rely heavily on help from the public, and cases can go years without being solved if no assistance comes forward.

But even when that’s the case, Sgt. Kathy Edwardsen said cases are never closed and the police service will not give up on anybody that is still missing.

“We’ll never stop investigating until we get the truth. No case is ever closed unless we get the truth,” Edwardsen, who works in Missing Persons and Historical Crimes. “There’s no closing it up and putting it on shelves. They’re not on shelves. We continue to investigate until we find the truth because ultimately, we’re all looking for the same thing.”

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW