Leaders of a small Saskatchewan first nation are seeking answers after a teenager who had been missing for nearly a year was found dead in an apartment in downtown Vancouver East Side.
Fourteen-year-old Noel O’Soup lives in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, but originally came from the 1,500-member Key First Nation in southern Saskatchewan.
“Noelle was a young member of our community,” said Key First Nation adviser Solomon Rhys.
“As far as I understand, she has been in the care (Department of Child and Family Development of British Columbia), jumping from home to home, which is unfortunately a reality for many of the children not only in our community but also for the children in the community. the indigenous population in a broad sense “, added Fig.
O’Soup disappeared from his home in Port Coquitlam on May 21, 2021.
“I know that our current boss, who was an adviser at the time, was placed in a task force along with Vancouver police who are looking to identify his whereabouts,” said Rhys, who added that the group also offered a reward of 10,000. dollars for Noel safe return.
“Unfortunately, that just wasn’t enough to find her.”
Nearly a year after she disappeared, two bodies were found in an apartment on Heathley Street in downtown East Side on May 1. One of the bodies was identified as O’Sup earlier this week, according to Vancouver police.
“Earlier this week, we received confirmation from the BC Coroners Service that Noel’s body was one of two people found on May 1,” Vancouver police spokesman Sergeant Steve Addison said in an email Thursday.
“Until now, her identity was unknown.
The fact that the teenager’s body remained unidentified for nearly two months is difficult for Key First Nation members to accept.
“It’s always very difficult and very shocking to lose a young member of our community,” Rhys said. “Yesterday was a very difficult day for us and a very difficult morning for us as we began to communicate with our members and members of her family.”
The cause of death of Noel and the person in whom she was found remains unknown. Police say the body of a 40-year-old man was found in the same apartment in late February, and crime is not ruled out.
“It is extremely important for the family and our community that we have the answers to understand what happened, not only the circumstances of her death, but also the circumstances that led to her death,” Rhys said.
Kukpi7 Judy Wilson of the Union of Indian Chiefs of British Columbia reiterates these comments.
“The group and all the loved ones deserve these answers, and they deserve the right access to information, the right reporting, and knowing it’s a bad game or an overdose,” Wilson said. “It can’t be underestimated.”
Both Wilson and Reese believe the system has failed Noel O’Soup, with many Indigenous women and girls missing and killed.
Why do these children die in care? And they are not respected, they are not highly respected. “All children should be respected and there should be no tragedy with the children they care for,” Wilson said.
Reese insists on a full investigation and cooperation from all agencies involved.
“But we also need systemic change,” he said. “How many more children do we have to disappear and how many more do we have to lose before there are significant changes at both the federal and provincial levels?”
They fear that if these changes do not happen, more vulnerable girls like Noel O’Sup will die dead.
Add Comment