Unresolved: Case Closed or Murder? CBC finds questionable circumstances in some Sask. cases
7 cases where families of missing and murdered Indigenous women disagree with the police findings
In seven Saskatchewan cases where officials say there is no evidence of foul play, the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women say they disagree with that conclusion.
The cases form part of a larger, national project that looks into 34 deaths of Indigenous women across the country. The project is a part of CBC's ongoing coverage on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women.
- Missing & Murdered: The Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women and Girls
- Unresolved: Questions remain in dozens of cases deemed 'no foul play'
The Saskatchewan cases span decades and occurred mostly around Regina and Prince Albert, Sask.
Edna Smith, 24, who disappeared in 1983, is presumed drowned after a camping trip near East Trout Lake.
Her boyfriend and sister-in-law's bodies were recovered a few weeks later but Smith has never been recovered.
The family of Rhonda Gardiner, 33, from La Plonge First Nation, Sask. said they believe their sister was killed and left in the bush in 2004.
The Saskatchewan RCMP and the coroner both say the case is closed as a suicide.
Brooklyn Moose, 25 was found dead in a North Central Regina attic.
Her grandmother Margaret Moose said her granddaughter changed the locks in the weeks before her death.
After her body was discovered, someone broke in, poured gasoline in the attic and lit it on fire. Regina police say there is no evidence of foul play.
Beatrice Adam, 36 years old, drowned in the North Saskatchewan River in Prince Albert, Sask., on Oct. 12, 2014.
She was last seen on a bridge with her boyfriend and a third person.
They were never recovered. Her family believed her case was closed too quickly.
The chief coroner's office declared her death was caused by drowning.
Sharon Frances Merasty was just 18 when she was found frozen to death on Regina's Wascana Creek in 1993.
An autopsy showed no evidence of violence and a coroner determined she died of hypothermia but her mother said she believed her daughter met with foul play.
Carol Prudhomme, 46, was found in her Regina apartment with plastic shopping bags around her head.
Her sister Sharon Pelletier said that's not possible because Carol was claustrophobic. Regina police said her case is closed.
The case of Nadine Machiskinic, a 29-year-old mother of four who fell 10 storeys down a laundry chute at Regina's Delta Hotel, has been the subject of intense scrutiny.
Her family said a series of missteps and missed opportunities has led to no clear answers in her death. Machiskinic died on Jan. 10, 2015 and her family believes she may have met with foul play.
CBC contacted all the police agencies involved and none would agree to an interview.