Thelma Krull searcher says 'we really need answers'
Vigil planned for missing grandmother on July 11 to mark 1 year since she went missing
Friends of missing woman Thelma Krull say they still hope they will get the closure they need as the one year anniversary of her disappearance approaches.
The 57-year-old grandmother vanished after she went out for a walk on the morning of July 11, 2015.
She was last seen in the Harbour View area and her glasses were found a few days later on the ground at Kimberly Hill in the Valley Gardens area.
Her case is still considered an active police investigation. Winnipeg police said they will speak more about the case on the anniversary, July 11.
Krull's friend Connie Muscat has planned a vigil for that night at Kimberly Hill, and she wants people to show up to support Krull's family.
"I can't even really describe the mixture of sadness and that unknown feeling of how could this still be happening one year later?"
"I know someone out there knows what happened to her and … and we want them to understand that a year of suffering is too much. We really need answers," Muscat said.
"People can give tips that are completely anonymous, and I'm not sure people understand that."
Muscat said hearing the number of people being reported missing and stories about bodies being found in the Red River have made the year even more difficult.
Last month, partial human remains were found in the Red River in Selkirk. A boater discovered a leg still attached to a boot that was similar to what Krull was wearing the day she went missing.
An RCMP spokesperson said investigators have not yet identified the remains or gender, but it does not belong to Thelma Krull.
Muscat said these incidents are always frustrating and emotionally draining.
"Well come on, who is it then?" she said.
"Everything that's happened in the past year has always had some sort of ending — a person has been found, someone came home. Whatever the case, it's always ended, there's been closure, and in this case, there hasn't."
Difficult week for Krull's family
Krull's family has asked the media for privacy at this time.
Muscat said this has been a difficult week for Krull's relatives and she's been asked to speak on their behalf.
"This time of year will always be harder now. Some of the weather that's been coming up, with the heat and stuff, is, you know, a reminder of those days that we were out searching.… It's really taken a toll on everybody."
Muscat said she has devoted a lot of personal time to organizing community searches over the past year, and even though it's taken an emotional toll on her, she has no plans to give up on her friend.
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"I know if I was out there missing, she would be filling my shoes right now," Muscat said.
Muscat is inviting the public to attend the vigil at 8:30 p.m. on July 11 on Kimberly Hill behind Kildonan East Collegiate.
She asks people to wear purple that day. Lanterns will also be released.
"Her favourite colour was pink, actually, but with the purple streak in her hair, she obviously liked purple," Muscat said with a smile.
"When I see that colour, it makes me remember her and be happy,"