Family of deceased Tsawwassen teen supports orphanage in her memory

Tsawwassen, B.C. -

The last days of Maaike Blom’s life captured local attention: a teen disappeared and was later found deceased.

But that’s not how her family is choosing to remember the vibrant 17-year-old.

“She was born a fiery redhead and she connected with a lot of children and especially animals from a young age," said Warner Blom, Maaike's father.

"She was just completely passionate about animals.”

On Dec. 3, she went missing. Delta Police found her body in a home on Tsawwassen First Nation land four days later.

Police deemed her death suspicious and had arrested a man, but later released him.

Blom said he doesn’t know much else about the investigation, but that’s the way he prefers it.

“Everybody that knew her knew she had a huge heart. That's where I want to spend my space and my time. Thoughts on loss and the investigation – and I know that there will be news coming out down the road – we'll deal with that at that time,” he said. “Even though her life was short, I prefer to just stay with the moments that I remember her as being alive.”

Blom said his daughter had an affinity for animals, caring for ducks since she was a young girl. Later, she spent countless hours volunteering at charities, such as Pony Pals and RAPS Adoption & Education Centre.

He remarked how their home was always full of orphaned animals.

During a family trip to Mexico, Maaike even made time to help animals there, he said.

“She took these stray dogs, put them in the ocean and was trying to wash and take the ticks and give them some food," he said. "That was the core of Maaike."

Blom said like other teenagers, she liked spending time with friends and spending time alone, but also knew when to make quality time with family.

“She just came to me and said, ‘Do you want to go dress shopping?’ which I thought was really cool,” he said.

That was one week before she went missing.

Seeing her wear her grad dress is one of countless milestones that have been taken from the Blom family.

To ensure her memory lives on, the family is raising funds to support Casa Hogar, an orphanage in San Lucas, Mexico. 

The family went there in 2018 and the time spent in the orphanage touched Maaike in a special way, Blom said.

“(We want) to help her build a little bit of a legacy that she didn't have an opportunity to do,” he said.