'She's just another one': Mother of Indigenous woman found dead slams police response
The mother of an Indigenous woman found dead in Richmond, B.C., is furious with police.
After months of relentlessly searching for her only child, Natasha Harrison received a phone call on Aug. 5 that brought those efforts to a tragic close.
Her daughter, 20-year-old Tatyanna Harrison had been identified as the woman found dead inside a yacht at a Richmond marina on May 2.
"I tried real hard, I love her very much,” a tearful Harrison told CTV News Friday.
Harrison says she first became worried about Tatyanna back in April after she stopped replying to text messages and calls.
She says that was often a sign that her daughter, who started using drugs back in 2021, was struggling.
After hearing Tatyanna may be in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Harrison filed a police report with the Vancouver Police Department on May 3.
She says she began her own search of the DTES, then on June 5, submitted a DNA sample to police.
On July 14, Richmond RCMP released a sketch and description of a woman whose remains had been found in the yacht.
Mounties described that woman as "caucasian," in her 30s or 40s, standing 5'5" tall and weighing 90 pounds. Harrison has been described by police as 5'1" tall and slim.
“It was the wrong description, how do you get her height wrong? You measured her right?” said Harrison.
"I'm furious with how my daughter was handled,” she said.
Vancouver police said the coroner’s early report indicated Tatyanna died from fentanyl toxicity but did not provide any further details surrounding the circumstances of her death.
However, the B.C. Coroner’s Service told CTV News Friday that their investigation into the death remains open.
VPD have also left the file open.
Harrison says she was told by Richmond RCMP that they’ve deemed the death non-suspicious and have closed the case.
"The fact that my daughter was found wearing only a turtleneck shirt with no pants, no underwear, no shoes, and no socks is very suspicious,” she said.
“That is out of her character, she has never been involved in anything in the sex trade.”
Harrison says it’s another case of an Indigenous woman’s death being brushed aside too quickly.
“We find it’s very common among the Indigenous community and people with addiction."
“Those are the cases that are being swept under the rug when there’s clearly something criminal going on,” she adds.
"Tatyanna's story is not unique, she's just another one, they just keep doing it."
CTV News reached out to Richmond RCMP for comment, but were re-directed to the B.C. Coroners Service.
Harrison said she’s scheduled a meeting at the detachment next week, in which she plans to present evidence she hopes will convince them to re-open the case.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Lisa Steacy.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
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.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
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.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
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.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.