Candace Wheeler is heartbroken to find out she missed her older sister’s funeral in January. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be there – she just didn’t know it was happening.
Candice and her family in Calgary are now seeking answers about how authorities failed to notify them when Courtney Wheeler died in December 2021 and was buried the following month.
“There was nobody there and there were no flowers … and that just means nobody cared,” Wheeler, 36, said.
“She was much loved and deserved better.”
Courtney Wheeler’s family want to know why they were not notified before her funeral in January this year. (Submitted by Candace Wheeler)
In most cases where a person dies unidentified or unclaimed, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner can identify and locate their next of kin within hours, the province says.
If not, the province says the service will continue to search until “all efforts have been exhausted.”
But the Wheelers say they learned of Courtney’s death months later and even then didn’t get the news from officials. Instead, they found out about her passing through social media.
This makes them wonder how diligent the search is for Courtney’s next of kin.
Chrissy Wheeler said the unanswered questions about her sister’s death have made it difficult to find closure. (Paula Duhachek/CBC)
It’s especially concerning, they say, because it appears to be the second such case in Calgary in just a few months. In February, Tara Niptanatiak died and was buried in the city the following month, unbeknownst to her family, in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.
“Who lets this happen?” said Chrissy Wheeler, 44, who is Kourtney’s older sister.
The family learned of the death from Facebook
When Candace Wheeler first learned of Courtney’s death, it had been months since she had last heard from her middle sister.
This was not unprecedented. In the years leading up to her death, Courtney struggled with homelessness and escalating addiction and was known to drop off the map for weeks or even months before resurfacing.
But in late May, Candace received a Facebook message from a friend of Kourtney’s who learned of her death after another friend came across a brief online obituary posted by the funeral home that arranged the funeral.
Candace Wheeler, whose family is part of the Cumberland House Cree Nation, believes authorities may have been more lax in searching for her sister because she was an Indigenous woman. (Paula Duhachek/CBC)
Worried, Candice called 911. She was referred to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, who confirmed her sister’s death.
Candice said she was told Kourtney and her friend were apparently smoking when they both fell asleep. The friend woke up; Courtney didn’t.
Candice also said she was told there was a month-long search for Kourtney’s next of kin before her case was referred to the Public Guardian and Trustee’s office. This service works with local funeral homes to arrange funerals for those whose families cannot be found.
But the Wheelers say they shouldn’t have been so hard to find.
“Some stranger found us,” so why aren’t the officials?
Candace, Chrissy and their mother Marie share the same last name. They live in the same city and haven’t moved or changed phone numbers in years.
Candice believes the police would have had information about her from a past missing persons report she filed for her sister in 2019 (which is when Kourtney was found shortly after). Courtney was known to addiction treatment facilities in Calgary, who would have Marie’s information on file as a family contact.
All three women were also listed on Kourtney’s Facebook page as members of her family, which was how Kourtney’s friend got hold of them in the first place.
Some stranger that we don’t even know found us to tell us that she passed away,” Chrissy said. “If a stranger can find us, why can’t the police or whoever find us [is in charge]?”
In response to questions from CBC Calgary, the Calgary Police Service said it could not comment on specific, non-criminal cases due to privacy legislation.
The office said when deaths are handled by Calgary police, it’s usually the responsibility of the chief medical examiner’s office to identify and locate next of kin with the help of police and other organizations.
Courtney Wheeler, right, is pictured with her mother, Marie. (Submitted by Candace Wheeler)
Privacy legislation also restricts the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee from disclosing information about specific cases to the media, according to the Department of Justice and the Attorney General.
In a statement, a spokesperson said the medical examiner’s office will work with police, RCMP, government and non-government organizations to identify next of kin and will search until “all efforts have been exhausted.”
“Unfortunately, it is sometimes not always possible to locate family members in a timely manner, particularly if the deceased has no identification, there is family estrangement, names have changed or the family lives in other jurisdictions in Canada or abroad,” said spokeswoman Catherine Thompson.
Thompson said the ministry is looking at ways to improve the process of identifying next of kin, including establishing agreements with other Canadian jurisdictions.
Courtney Wheeler is featured in childhood family photos. (Submitted by Candace Wheeler)
“Somebody Cares”
The Wheelers say the province’s process for finding next of kin sounds like a good one. They just don’t believe it was followed in their case.
And while the family hopes to learn more about how the search unfolded and why authorities haven’t been able to find them, they suspect they may already know.
Candice Wheeler believes that Courtney has been stereotyped as a homeless Indigenous woman and that the authorities were negligent because they assumed no one cared about her.
“Someone actually did and cared,” she said. “We want to make sure they know that now.”
They hope that by sharing their story, they can prevent this situation from happening again. Candice noted that the problem is not limited to Alberta. in 2020 a man from Toronto named Seth McLean died of an overdose in a shelter and was buried in nearby Pickering while his family frantically searched for him.
“It happens too often. Families are deprived of the opportunity to say goodbye to a loved one,” said Candace.
Since learning of Courtney’s death, the Wheelers have held a small memorial service to say goodbye. It has helped somewhat, but they say there is still a lot of pain.
“It’s hard to go through grief when you have all these unanswered questions,” Chrissy said.
Growing up, Courtney Wheeler enjoyed riding horses at her aunt’s ranch. (Submitted by Candace Wheeler)
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