Family hopeful RCMP report will help shed light on Rocelyn Gabriel's death
The RCMP is expected to release a report Friday about Canada's missing and murdered indigenous women. It builds on findings from a 2014 review that found there's been 1,181 cases of missing and murdered indigenous women across Canada since 1980.
It isn't yet clear how the forthcoming report will help families cope with the disappearances of their daughters, sisters, wives, mothers and cousins.
A year and a half after being found nearly frozen to death in Portage la Prairie, Garry Catcheway and Joyce Gabriel are still hoping to find out what happened to their daughter Rocelyn Gabriel.
"Every time I talk about my daughter I just get so emotional, it hurts all over again," said Gabriel.
The 20-year-old woman was found behind the city's recycling depot suffering from hypothermia. She died in hospital a short time later.
Her family maintains she didn't get to the recycling depot by herself.
"Why would she be over there when her place is here," said Catcheway. "She knew … how to get home."
Foul play wasn't initially suspected in her January 2014 death. Then, on June 11, RCMP started asking the public for tips.
Gabriel said an officer met with their family.
"He wanted to review her file all over again," said Gabriel. "From what he tells us, he is puzzled with the time frame, from where she was at to where she was seen."
One of Rocelyn's cousins last saw her at a house party, the family said. Surveillance footage from the recycling centre puts her in the area where she was found about 45 minutes after she was last seen at the party.
Gabriel said there is no further footage of Rocelyn during that time.
"Not just shut the file and say it's unsolved, it will never be unsolved for us families, us families who are dealing with this," said Gabriel.
"We keep going, we keep asking anyone out there, 'have you seen anything, have you heard anything. Please help us.'"
The RCMP report is expected to focus on how to move forward with MMIW investigations.
Gabriel believes her daughter Rocelyn belongs on the RCMP`s list of MMIW. She hopes the new report will help her find out what happened to her daughter.
"I'm really hopeful that somebody out there will come forward."
