By Tyler Marr

Family, friends embark on walk to La Ronge for missing woman Happy Charles

May 6, 2018 | 1:38 PM

Marcia Bird tightly grips a rattle that was hand painted by her mother Happy Charles — the La Ronge woman who has been missing since April 3, 2017.

She stands in a circle with four others holding drums and shakes the rattle in beat while they sing. Encompassing them in the parking lot at Prince Albert Collegiate Institute under sun-soaked skies Sunday morning is a larger circle with nearly 40 others, including Charles’ mother and step-father, Regina and Carson Poitras. 

All gathered to pray, tally supplies and assemble before they embark on an eight-day walk to La Ronge, a healing and awareness journey branded as ‘Brining Happy Charles’ Spirit Home.’

The walk is spearheaded by Bird, who was inspired to do so after attending the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Youth Conference in Prince Albert and speaking to the inquiry commissioners. 

“I thought it would be a good idea to heal through this walk,” she said, adding the experience at the conference was fulfilling, though admitting she broke down when speaking about her mother. 

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“I told them how she was with us. She was a really awesome mom and we all miss her and the happiness that she brought,” she said.

Bird hopes the walk reignites support throughout the summer for ongoing search efforts.

Charles’ case has come in and out of the spotlight throughout the past 12 months and the family continues to vocalize calls for any new information relating to her disappearance.

Charles was last seen in person at the Prince Albert YWCA. She was again seen in released video footage shortly after midnight near PACI on April 3. She was wearing a three-quarter length black jacket, blue jeans and a ball cap. She had light coloured shoes, a black backpack, a purse and a white shopping bag.

Her family has searched tirelessly for the 42-year-old ever since with help from friends, family and concerned citizens. Small teams have assembled numerous times to scour bushes, abandoned structures and remote areas in and around the city. Police have even conducted an aerial search of Prince Albert using cameras. Civilian groups have swept and retraced their steps and those of police in an attempt to unearth any small clue that could hint at Charles’ location.

In June 2017, police and investigators renewed calls for information on the case. The following month her family spoke to the commissioners of the MMIWG inquiry and the Assembly of First Nations Chiefs in Regina.

Later in July, confusion over the case’s investigation status arose. Charles’ step-father has said a member of the Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) told him and other family members the investigation’s status had changed to a homicide. But Insp. John Bergen, who was in charge of the major crimes unit, said the status had not changed.

A vigil was held in La Ronge in October to mark the six-month mark of her disappearance. In November, as winter set in, another civilian team was organized by the newly appointed police victim services missing person liaison.

On April 3, 2018, people released colourful lanterns into the sky over Lac La Ronge on the one-year anniversary.

Regina was extremely proud of her granddaughter for pursuing the idea and thanked those who helped organize the logistics. She said Bird randomly picked out days on the calendar for the walk and “it was kind of strange because it just so happened that the end of the walk will be Mother’s Day.”

Echoing the desire to garner increased awareness for Charles, Regina said they have not received the monetary help needed and felt the families ask for expert searchers has fallen on deaf ears.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr