'9 years is a very long time to wait': Claudette Osborne's mother pleads for information at vigil

Brenda Osborne wiped the tears from her eyes as she spoke to family and friends in Winnipeg about the pain she feels, as another year passes without any information about her missing daughter.

Claudette Osborne, a 21-year-old mother of four, was last seen on July 24, 2008. The group gathered for a vigil on Selkirk Avenue at King Street on Tuesday evening — the last place Claudette is believed to have been before she vanished.

"Nine years is a very long time to wait," Brenda Osborne told the crowd.

"We pray every day for Claudette to come home, even to find her. But we are not giving up, we keep going, we keep searching, we keep looking for her."

• Vigil honours Claudette Osborne, mother of 4 who went missing in 2008
• Missing and Murdered: The case of Claudette Priscilla June Osborne

People held candles, prayed and played drums, as others taped photos of Claudette Osborne to nearby polls, a ritual they do every year.

Brenda Osborne said she found strength in her grandchildren and in the group that came for support, many of whom attended because they were family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

"It is very hard to lose a child. It's like a nightmare. Everyday getting up I just hope," she said.

"We have each other to stand together. That's what makes me go on because of all of you here standing with us every day."

One of those in attendance was Cheyenne Chartrand, who said decades ago people didn't talk about missing women.

"People didn't talk about it, people didn't gather to make other people remember, to send that message out there to our loved ones and to other people who maybe know and don't say anything," she said.