Missing woman Chelsea Poorman's father on relentless quest to find her

Every evening, Mike Kiernan walks through Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, stopping on Carrall Street directly in front of a large mural of his missing daughter, Chelsea Poorman.

“I have this thing in my mind where I’m going to meet Chelsea there at 5:30,” Kiernan said. “So, hopefully one day she meets me there.”

Originally from Saskatchewan, Poorman came to Vancouver in the summer of 2020.

Just two months later, after a night out with her sister in the Granville Entertainment District, she vanished without a trace in the early hours of Sept. 6.

Since then, her bank account hasn’t been touched and she hasn’t logged on to her social media accounts.

Shortly after Poorman went missing, her dad dropped everything in Saskatoon and drove to Vancouver to find her.

For the first year he lived in his van, but he now has a small apartment.

He spends his days pounding the pavement, posting missing person flyers advertising a $20,000 reward for information that helps to find his daughter.

“Chelsea’s gone. And I can’t find her. And that’s the hardest thing I’ve ever dealt with in my life,” he said in an interview with CTV News.

The Vancouver Police Major Crimes Section is investigating Poorman’s disappearance and detectives from both the missing person and homicide units are assigned to the case.

“To date, police have taken numerous investigative steps, including interviewing several people associated with Ms. Poorman, reviewing relevant banking and cellphone records, conducting an extensive video canvass, and collaborating with Saskatoon Police,” VPD Insp. Dale Weidman said in a statement. “This investigation remains very active, however in order to protect the integrity of ongoing measures, I am unable to elaborate further.”

In his head, Kiernan has gone over the night Poorman went missing thousands of times.

After dinner at a restaurant and drinks at The Belmont, a popular hotel bar, she and her sister visited a friend in an apartment building at 1278 Granville St., before Poorman left on her own. She hasn’t been seen since.

She is described as Indigenous and 26 years old, standing 5’3” tall and weighing about 120 lbs.

Poorman has black hair and walks with a slight limp.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts, or what happened to her, is asked to call Vancouver Police or CrimeStoppers.

Propelled by anguish and sorrow, Poorman’s dad vows to never stop looking for her.

“I’m here now for however long it takes to find her,” Kiernan said. “To bring her home.”

Until then, he’ll be in front of her mural every evening at 5:30 – hoping against all odds that his little girl shows up to meet him.