'Quite substantial': Regina police highlight impact of missing persons on vulnerable groups

A community forum hosted by the Regina Police Service (RPS) is educating people on the impacts various vulnerable groups feel when a person goes missing.

The forum is part of how the service is recognizing Missing Persons Week in Saskatchewan.

A panel featured community organizations representing new Canadians, the Indigenous population, vulnerable teens, youth and older adults as well as LGBTQ2S+ people.

“People in these groups are more at risk of going missing,” RPS Missing Persons Liaison Rhonda Fiddler told CTV News. “Many are seeking out support they need which leads them to leave their current situation.”

Many of the panelists shared similar experiences their respective groups feel when a person goes missing within their community.

“The impact for immigrants of a missing person can be on multiple levels,” one panelist said. “It’s huge.”

“It’s important for us to establish a connection with RPS,” Erica Beaudin, Chief of Cowessess First Nation and former director at Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services, said. 

“The way policing was done in the past and the way relationships are with communities are very different than they are today,” Fiddler said. “But it’s those past relationships that have created that distrust.”

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Fiddler’s hope is that RPS can rebuild that trust.

“It’s going to take a bit of work and a bit of time for everybody to trust that police are doing what they are supposed to do,” she added. “And building those relationships to where they are good, concrete and heathy.”

Missing Persons Saskatchewan stats show there are 143 cases open in the province.

Fiddler said a minimum of 20 family, friends or community members are impacted by each case.

“Do the math,” she said. “The impact is quite substantial.”

Fiddler also said investigators feel the strain as well.

“Our police search for these people day in and day out,” she said. “It’s all about understanding we are all impacted and we are all in this together.”