A sweater believed to belong to Tammy Nattaway was found last month, near the two-year anniversary of the teenager’s disappearance from her northern Manitoba community.
Nattaway, 16, of Garden Hill First Nation, was last seen there in July 2020. Her family filed a missing persons report and said they knew she would not have fled her community about 475 kilometers northeast of Winnipeg, which has all season road access.
Searches are ongoing in Garden Hill and the nearby community of Wasagamack, where the sweater was found.
“When I saw that sweater, I knew it was hers,” said Tammy’s mother, Stephanie Harper.
“I recognized him immediately. I felt it. I knew it was hers. It was one she would wear all the time. I felt kind of relaxed when they showed it to me. Some relief. It was a warm feeling.. That’s how I knew it was hers.”
Photo of the sweater found in Wasagamack, which is now with the police awaiting forensic examination. (Submitted by Lena Harper)
The sweater was handed over to the police. RCMP said Tammy’s disappearance is being considered foul play and is an active investigation.
“The sweater remains in evidence as part of the RCMP investigation,” RCMP media relations officer Tara Seale wrote in an email to CBC News.
“It will be forensically analyzed, which will take some time.”
She said the RCMP is not part of the search in Wasagamack, but remains “involved” in what’s happening on the ground in the community.
“We continue to receive tips and they are all being followed up,” Seel wrote.
“We are also pursuing several different avenues of investigation that will hopefully help move this investigation forward and find some answers for Tammy’s family.”
A searcher’s camp was established at Wasagamac. (Submitted by Lena Harper)
Search co-ordinator Floyd Mason of Wasagamac said they are working with the RCMP and asked where they should be looking.
“The only response we got from them, [is] that they can’t eliminate both communities,” Mason said.
“We, the searchers here in Wasagamac, have been told to keep searching, as we did with Garden Hill.”
They had divers in the water and they were also searching through swampy areas. Mason said they appreciate any help people can give them to continue searching.
Lena Harper, Tammy’s grandmother, thanked the volunteers and help from Cat Lake and St. Theresa Point.
She said Tammy is quiet, honest and has a sense of humor.
“[She was] respectful, kind She tried to make people laugh,” she said.
Pictures of Tammy cover a poster board in Wasagamac. (Submitted by Lena Harper)
Stephanie Harper said they celebrated Tammy’s 18th birthday on June 5 with a barbecue and released 18 lanterns into the sky. She said they won’t stop looking for her daughter.
“We can’t just sit at home and wait,” she said.
“That’s why we’re here [the search] camp because we feel helpless at home. It is very tiring, sometimes frustrating. Sometimes we hope, but we will not give up. We won’t stop. We just want to find her.”
Anyone with information about Tammy Nattaway is asked to call Island Lake RCMP at 204-456-2626, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or leave a secure tip online.
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