Woman missing from B.C. First Nation along Highway of Tears found dead

An Indigenous community in central B.C. is reeling after the remains of a 29-year-old woman were discovered, nearly one month after she was reported missing.

The family of Chelsey Quaw confirmed the tragic discovery in Saik’uz First Nation Territory on Monday, writing in a statement “we will not rest until we get answers.”

Quaw, who also used the surname Heron, was last seen in the early morning of Oct. 10 and was reported missing the following day.

Vanderhoof RCMP and the Saik'uz First Nation say her remains were found in a wooded area on the Indigenous community's territory, located 100 kilometres west of Prince George along Highway 16, on Monday afternoon.

Pam Heron described her daughter in a statement as someone with “the most amazing spirit, beautiful strength and independence.”

Mary Teegee, executive director of child and family services with Carrier Sekani Family Services, shared similar sentiments with CTV News on Tuesday, saying Quaw had a “beautiful soul, beautiful smile and beautiful spirit.”

She believes the response to Quaw’s disappearance would have been different if she was a white woman.

“What would happen if this was a non-Indigenous, blonde, blue-eyed little girl that was missing out of West Vancouver? We wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Teegee told CTV News Tuesday. “Everyone would have been up in arms—the community, the municipality, businesses—everyone would have been rallying around. That isn’t the same response we have when there’s a young Indigenous woman.”

Teegee called on the government to implement the 33 calls for actions outlined in 2006 by the Highway of Tears Symposium, which remain unfulfilled, as do the 231 calls for justice delivered by the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in 2019.

“The issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls is not a B.C. problem – it’s a Canada-wide one,” says Teegee. “We really need to come together to address what’s going on.”

Quaw was one of two community members missing from the First Nation this year.

Jay Raphael, 28, was reported missing on Feb. 26 after walking away from a residence.

The Heron-Quaw family addressed his absence in their statement, urging the public to contact Vanderhoof RCMP with file #2023-477 with any information on his whereabouts.

“We support all search efforts to bring Jay home,” wrote the family.

Anyone with information about Quaw’s disappearance and death is asked to contact Mounties at the same number and quote file #2023-2794.

Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Her family is thanking everyone who helped with the search, including the Nechako Search and Rescue Team; the chiefs, councils and communities of Saik’uz and Stellat’en First Nations; CSFS and the RCMP.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Spencer Harwood and The Canadian Press