Indigenous teen missing for more than a year found dead in Vancouver
An Indigenous teen from Port Coquitlam who was missing for more than a year has been found deceased.
Coquitlam RCMP announced Wednesday that the search for 14-year-old Noelle O'Soup – who went by Ellie – "has come to a tragic end."
O'Soup was reported missing on May 12, 2021, and Mounties said Wednesday that she had been found, dead, in Vancouver.
RCMP did not say whether they consider her death suspicious, adding that the Vancouver Police Department "currently has conduct of the investigation" into the circumstances surrounding it.
In its own statement Wednesday, the VPD said O'Soup's remains were discovered on May 1 of this year inside an apartment building at 405 Heatley St.
"Earlier today, we met privately with Noelle’s family and informed them of this tragic news," the department said. "We will continue to provide her family with updates as this investigation progresses."
Vancouver police said the BC Coroners Service is investigating to determine the cause and the VPD Major Crime Section is "investigating the circumstances surrounding" O'Soup's death.
Investigators have not ruled out criminality in the case, police said, adding that the "active and ongoing" investigation limits how much detail they can share publicly.
"Noelle’s death will generate many questions in the community, and we are committed to finding answers," the VPD said. "If, during the course of this investigation, we determine there is a risk to public safety, we will immediately notify the public."
O'Soup left her home in Port Coquitlam around dinner time on the day she was last seen, according to RCMP.
Police have previously said she "did not have permission to leave," but did not elaborate on what exactly that meant, declining to answer questions about her living situation.
Mounties said she was known to spend time around the Lower Mainland, including in Vancouver.
Police issued several appeals seeking information on the girl's whereabouts, and released new photos in January, hoping for new leads.
At the time, investigators said they were making the surveillance camera photos public in hopes of moving the investigation forward. They did not say whether they believed the person in the photos was O'Soup, or if they thought the person was someone else with ties to her.
In their most recent update on the investigation before Wednesday, Coquitlam RCMP said the photos had generated new tips, but that all of them had been pursued and the girl still hadn't been located.
The RCMP estimates that between 70,000 and 80,000 people are reported missing each year in Canada, and says that most are found within seven days.
The most recent data available is from 2020. At that time, B.C. had the highest number of missing adult reports per capita at 239 per 100,000 people. The province did not have the highest rate of missing children and youth, but did see a total of 5,870 reports that year.
Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately represented in these reports.
According to the Assembly of First Nations, 11 per cent of missing females are Indigenous, despite Indigenous people only making up about 4.3 per cent of the population of Canada. The current data is believed to underrepresent the scale of the issue, the AFN says.
The RCMP said Indigenous women represent 10 per cent of cases in which a woman has been missing for at least 30 days, a statistic based on a 2015 report. Of those women, many were identified as missing "due to 'unknown' circumstances or foul play was suspected."
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Kendra Mangione
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.