Bear Clan help in search for missing 21-year-old woman

Winnipeg's Bear Clan helped look for a missing 21-year-old woman Wednesday night.

Leader James Favel said the organization offered to help search for Christine Wood almost immediately after she was declared missing.

"She's a remarkable case. There's a tremendous amount of people who really love and care for this woman," he said.

Bear Clan volunteers are out searching Winnipeg streets, putting up posters and urging people to come forward with tips.

"Basically the family just wants to know that she's safe and we're trying to facilitate that," said Favel.

The parents of Christine Wood made an emotional, tear-filled plea to the public on Tuesday for help finding their missing daughter.

"If anybody has any information — any kind of information, any lead — about our daughter's whereabouts, please … we need her home. I know she's 21 years old and an adult, but she's our child. She's still our child," said George Wood, Christine's father.

'Every day's a struggle'

Wood's father said the family is anxiously waiting for news of their daughter.

"Every day's a struggle to keep strong and to make sure she's OK somewhere. I pray every day for her safety," he said. 

"I'm pleading to anyone in the city that may have seen her, that knows where she is, please help us."

Christine was last seen on the evening of Aug. 19 in the St. James area of Winnipeg. She was staying with family at a hotel and went out for the evening. She never returned and calls and texts to her cell phone have gone unanswered.

"Christine, if you can hear me, please come home," said her mother, Melinda, whose plea broke off into tears and sobs. "Come home, please, Christine. I beg you."

The news conference was held at the Winnipeg office of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, which represents most northern Manitoba First Nations. MKO Grand Chief Sheila North Wilson echoed the family's call for the community to help find Christine.

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"Christine is one of too many missing Indigenous women and girls — we can't just sit back and wait," she said. "We all need to come together as a community to help this family, and families like hers who are searching for their loved ones."

The Woods last saw their daughter around 9:30 p.m. on the night she went missing. The couple left their hotel room near Sargent Avenue and Berry Street, not far from the Winnipeg airport, to run to a store. When they returned, Christine was gone.

The family, from Oxford House First Nation, was in Winnipeg to accompany a family member to a medical appointment. They were set to return to Oxford House on Aug. 25.

When Christine didn't return by then, the Woods filed a missing person report with the Winnipeg Police Service. They have remained in the city to search for their daughter.

Christine is described as 5-foot-6, with an average build and shoulder-length dark brown hair. She was last seen wearing a green top with a red striped Adidas jacket and denim shorts. She was carrying a white purse.

"While most parents are preparing to send their children back to school and off to college, this family's desperately searching for their missing girl. They have no idea where their daughter is or if she is safe," said Christy Dzikowicz of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection.

"This is a 21-year-old girl who has a family and a future."