Mother walks 'highway of tears' in memory of slain girl

A woman plans to walk 722 kilometresalong the "highway of tears" betweentwo northern B.C. communities to help herself heal after losing her 14-year-old daughter in a highway killing in February 2006.

Audrey Auger said her daughter, Aielah Katherina Saric, went missing last year and was later found dead alongHighway 16, east of Prince George.

Since 1990, nine women, most of them young and aboriginal, have vanished or turned up deadon the stretch of road from Prince George to Prince Rupert, known as the highway of tears.

Auger described the last time she saw her daughter.

"She waved at me and blew me a kiss and said, 'I'll be back, mom, I'll be back, don't worry, I'll phone you,'" Auger said.

Since Saric's death, Auger turned to alcohol and has been living on the street, she said. Last month, she woke up anddecided to get her act together.

Auger hopes the journey will "help me live again, to find my strength and know who I am in the role of a woman.

"I'm not there yet, but I'm getting there — baby steps, they say, and that's what I'm taking right now."

Auger and a group of youths will start their 722-kilometre journey this Sunday in Prince Rupert.