'Sadness' hangs over start of school year because of missing B.C. teacher
At Katzie Elementary in Surrey, the start of a new school year began with a sense of sadness.
That’s because one of their teachers who was supposed to be there is missing.
“Everyone’s just feeling the weight of her not being here,” said Ashley Bunting, who serves as president of the school’s parent advisory committee.
Naomi Onotera, 40, is Katzie’s teacher-librarian.
Police say she was last seen the evening of Aug. 28 by her husband leaving their Langley home near 200th Street and 50th Avenue. Her mom reported her missing the following day.
Langley RCMP's Serious Crimes Unit is investigating. Investigators have received a couple dozen tips and are sorting through surveillance footage from the area.
“It’s surreal. It doesn’t seem real to us. It’s basically all of our worst nightmares,” said Onotera’s emotional sister, Kirsten Kerr, who spoke publicly about the case for the first time Tuesday.
“We all miss her very much we, we can’t live without her. We just want her home safely,” Kerr said through tears.
Those who know Onotera say her disappearance is completely out of character and that she would never leave her 20-month-old daughter.
“Naomi is probably one of the most gentle, kind, caring people. She loves her daughter so much and her family so much, so this feels out of character, feels unlike anything she would do,” explained Bunting.
Kerr last saw her sister a few days before she vanished and said Onotera never indicated anything was wrong.
“She really did love her job and was excited to go back,” her sister explained.
Friends and strangers alike have been searching for Onotera. Posters have gone up near her school. A candlelight vigil was held on the weekend.
“We’re so thankful for the help of the community. We’re so thankful for people putting up posters all around their neighbourhoods and just going out and searching,” said Kerr.
Onotera is believed to have been wearing black stretchy pants and a black t-shirt on the day she was last seen.
Langley RCMP”s tip line can be reached at 604-532-3398.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
It's 30 years since apartheid ended. South Africa's celebrations are set against growing discontent
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
Britney Spears settles long-running legal dispute with estranged father, finally bringing ultimate end to conservatorship
Britney Spears has reached a settlement with her estranged father more than two years after the court-ordered termination of a conservatorship that had given him control of her life, their attorneys said.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
Haida elder suing Catholic Church and priest, hopes for 'healing and reconciliation'
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
From pop to politics, what to know as Sweden prepares for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest
Taking place in May in Malmo, Sweden, the 68th annual competition will see acts from 37 countries vie for the continent’s pop crown in a feelgood extravaganza that strives — not always successfully – to banish international strife and division. And you don’t have to be in Europe to watch, or to help pick the winner.