'Just a baby': Vigil mourns 14-year-old Indigenous girl found dead in Vancouver
A vigil was held on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Tuesday for an Indigenous girl whose body was found there a year after she went missing.
Noelle O'Soup was one of two people whose remains were in a room at a single-room-occupancy building on May 1, Vancouver police have confirmed. The "tragic end" to the search was announced by the department seven weeks later, after the body was identified.
The 14-year-old was a member of the Key First Nation in Saskatchewan. The band says O'Soup was in government care when she went missing in May of 2021.
Vigil organizer Lorelei Williams, who is with the group Butterflies in Spirit, said O'Soup's death is not only a tragedy for those who knew and loved her – it's a painful and stark reminder of an ongoing national crisis.
"Our Indigenous women and girls are in a state of emergency. Our Indigenous women and girls need to be protected. There's a high rate of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls. This should not be happening," she told CTV News.
"She was just a baby," she said of O'Soup.
According to the Assembly of First Natiions, 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."
Shortly after announcing that the search for O'Soup had come to a tragic end, the Vancouver Police Department has said criminality has not been ruled out in this case
"Everything's on the table at this point," spokesperson Const. Tania Visintin said at a news conference last week.
"We're looking into all avenues on what caused this death – or deaths, I should say."
INDIGENOUS LEADERS DEMAND ANSWERS
The fact the teenager’s body remained unidentified for nearly two months is difficult for Key First Nation members to take.
“It’s always very hard and very shocking to lose a young member of our community,” said band councillor Solomon Reece told CTV News last week.
“It’s incredibly important to the family and our community that we have the answers to understand what happened, not only the circumstances of her death, but the circumstances that led to her death.”
Kukpi7 Judy Wilson with the Union of BC Indian Chiefs echoes those comments.
“The band and all of the loved ones deserve those answers, and they deserve the proper access to the information, the proper reporting and to know that if this was foul play or it was an overdose,” said Wilson. “It can’t be downplayed.”
Both Wilson and Reece believe the system failed Noelle O’Soup, like it has many missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
“Why are these children dying in care? And they’re not being respected, they’re not being held in high regard. All children should be held in high regard, and there shouldn’t be tragedies happening to the children in care,” said Wilson.
Reece is demanding a full investigation and cooperation from all agencies involved.
“But we also need systemic change," he said. “How many more children have to go missing, and how many more do we have to lose before there is significant changes both at federal and provincial levels?”
They fear if those changes don’t happen, more vulnerable girls like Noelle O’Soup will end up dead.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
The Indian couple killed in a wrong-way police chase crash on Highway 401 earlier this week has been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
2 charged after police find 'concerning and diverse' explosives at Manitoba home
Winnipeg police say they have arrested two people in their 20s after a large amount of explosives were found in a home outside of Winnipeg, Man.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Spain abolishes national bullfighting award in cultural shift
Spain scrapped an annual bullfighting award on Friday, prompting a rebuke from conservatives over a backlash against a centuries-old tradition they see as an art form but which has run into growing concern for animal welfare.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.