One thing that I’ve learned in covering unsolved cases is that time does not heal all
wounds.
No matter how much time has passed the families of missing or murdered women
still agonize over the loss of their loved one.
And never give up on finding justice.
I’m sure that is true for anyone grappling with such a horrific loss.
But for Indigenous families there’s another layer of injustice.
A society that for a long time has been indifferent.
It’s really only been in the last few years that these stories have been deemed
newsworthy.
Now journalists and Canadians are paying attention.
It’s been the families of missing and murdered women and girls who have pushed
their stories into the spotlight.
Myra Anderson: Every day I picture her walking out that door. Calling out to her
"make sure you come back before your curfew”, she said ya and those were the last
words I said to her and she left the house.
Myra Anderson lost her fifteen year old niece, Leah Anderson in 2013.
I first heard about Leah’s story after Myra posted a photo to Facebook.
It was a picture of Leah, in front of a christmas tree at their home in Gods Lake
Narrows, Manitoba.
Right next to her face it read: “Hi my name is Leah, this picture was taken a few
weeks before I was murdered. I loved everything about my life. Please help my
family find my killer.”
Myra posted that photo because she was desperate to get some attention.
She hoped it would help pressure police to work harder to find Leah’s killer.
,Myra Anderson: It’s on my mind everyday. Who could have done this? Do I see this
person? Is he around here? Is there a suspect? I wonder if this is the day they'll
make an arrest.
Tootsie Tuccaro also wonders when that day will come.
Her daughter Amber Tuccaro’s remains were found outside of Edmonton, Alberta in
2012.
Tootsie doesn’t know how her daughter ended up there.
The only insight she has comes from a recording of Amber’s last phone call.
Amber: Yo where are we going?
This audio was released by police two years after she disappeared.
They were hoping to identify the man Amber is with in the vehicle.
Amber: You better not be taking me anywhere I don’t want to go. I want to go into
the city.
She thinks she is going into Edmonton.
But it becomes clear that is not where he seems to be taking her.
Amber: Yo we are not going in the city are we?
Man: We are.
Amber: No we are not.
Man: Yes.
Tootsie Tuccaro: I have nightmares about that. But you know what. As much as my
heart's broken. As much as I want my girl back, it's not about me. It's about Amber.
And to get justice for Amber.
Myra and Tootsie are not alone in their grief.
CBC News has a database of over 250 cases, all unsolved.
, We’ve interviewed over 100 family members.
Our profiles try to show who these women and girls were and illustrate just how
much they’re loved and missed.
And try to bring some attention to their stories.
Alberta’s story wasn’t really reported on when it happened.
There were a few pictures in the paper when she disappeared.
But no one interviewed her family or her friends at the time.
CBC has had a station in Prince Rupert for decades but there is nothing in their
archives about Alberta.
The first mention I could find about Alberta in any of our archives is actually from
2010.
When her sister Karen took Alberta’s photo to a march in Vancouver to raise
awareness about the highway of tears and missing and murdered Indigenous
women.
Peter Mansbridge: Demonstrators demanded a public inquiry into a horrible reality.
Hundreds of cases of missing and murdered...
Karen Williams: She was the kindest, politest person, she wouldn’t hurt a fly. My
dad, I remember seeing him break down and cry and he said why are my daughters
looking for where there sister is in a dumpsters, in the bushes?
Karen is holding a stack of posters at the march.
As she hands them out, you can see a picture of Alberta and in red letters it reads
“Alberta Gail Williams”, Unsolved Murder”.
Karen is Alberta’s youngest sister.
The baby in the family.
I had reached out to her months ago but it wasn’t until after the first episode of this
podcast was released that she wrote back to me and we spoke on the phone.
wounds.
No matter how much time has passed the families of missing or murdered women
still agonize over the loss of their loved one.
And never give up on finding justice.
I’m sure that is true for anyone grappling with such a horrific loss.
But for Indigenous families there’s another layer of injustice.
A society that for a long time has been indifferent.
It’s really only been in the last few years that these stories have been deemed
newsworthy.
Now journalists and Canadians are paying attention.
It’s been the families of missing and murdered women and girls who have pushed
their stories into the spotlight.
Myra Anderson: Every day I picture her walking out that door. Calling out to her
"make sure you come back before your curfew”, she said ya and those were the last
words I said to her and she left the house.
Myra Anderson lost her fifteen year old niece, Leah Anderson in 2013.
I first heard about Leah’s story after Myra posted a photo to Facebook.
It was a picture of Leah, in front of a christmas tree at their home in Gods Lake
Narrows, Manitoba.
Right next to her face it read: “Hi my name is Leah, this picture was taken a few
weeks before I was murdered. I loved everything about my life. Please help my
family find my killer.”
Myra posted that photo because she was desperate to get some attention.
She hoped it would help pressure police to work harder to find Leah’s killer.
,Myra Anderson: It’s on my mind everyday. Who could have done this? Do I see this
person? Is he around here? Is there a suspect? I wonder if this is the day they'll
make an arrest.
Tootsie Tuccaro also wonders when that day will come.
Her daughter Amber Tuccaro’s remains were found outside of Edmonton, Alberta in
2012.
Tootsie doesn’t know how her daughter ended up there.
The only insight she has comes from a recording of Amber’s last phone call.
Amber: Yo where are we going?
This audio was released by police two years after she disappeared.
They were hoping to identify the man Amber is with in the vehicle.
Amber: You better not be taking me anywhere I don’t want to go. I want to go into
the city.
She thinks she is going into Edmonton.
But it becomes clear that is not where he seems to be taking her.
Amber: Yo we are not going in the city are we?
Man: We are.
Amber: No we are not.
Man: Yes.
Tootsie Tuccaro: I have nightmares about that. But you know what. As much as my
heart's broken. As much as I want my girl back, it's not about me. It's about Amber.
And to get justice for Amber.
Myra and Tootsie are not alone in their grief.
CBC News has a database of over 250 cases, all unsolved.
, We’ve interviewed over 100 family members.
Our profiles try to show who these women and girls were and illustrate just how
much they’re loved and missed.
And try to bring some attention to their stories.
Alberta’s story wasn’t really reported on when it happened.
There were a few pictures in the paper when she disappeared.
But no one interviewed her family or her friends at the time.
CBC has had a station in Prince Rupert for decades but there is nothing in their
archives about Alberta.
The first mention I could find about Alberta in any of our archives is actually from
2010.
When her sister Karen took Alberta’s photo to a march in Vancouver to raise
awareness about the highway of tears and missing and murdered Indigenous
women.
Peter Mansbridge: Demonstrators demanded a public inquiry into a horrible reality.
Hundreds of cases of missing and murdered...
Karen Williams: She was the kindest, politest person, she wouldn’t hurt a fly. My
dad, I remember seeing him break down and cry and he said why are my daughters
looking for where there sister is in a dumpsters, in the bushes?
Karen is holding a stack of posters at the march.
As she hands them out, you can see a picture of Alberta and in red letters it reads
“Alberta Gail Williams”, Unsolved Murder”.
Karen is Alberta’s youngest sister.
The baby in the family.
I had reached out to her months ago but it wasn’t until after the first episode of this
podcast was released that she wrote back to me and we spoke on the phone.
