'I still don't have the answers': the lifelong grief of open cold cases
Christine Harron was 15 years old when she went missing in 1993 in Hanover, Ontario.
Last month, Anthony Edward Ringel, a local man, pleaded guilty to second degree murder.
But even with a life sentence for the man who killed her daughter, Christine Harron's mother Mary Ann Russwurm is still left with questions.
"Her body has never been found," Mary Ann Russwurm tells The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti.
"I still don't have the answers. I have what he says happened. But that's one side."
Celine Ethier understands the feeling of living without answers. Her daughter Melanie went missing in 1996 from New Liskeard, in northeastern Ontario.
"It's easy to get lost in thinking of our missing child every day," Celine Ethier says. "Because especially at first it's like our heart stops beating. We're just surviving."
Trevor Brown's sister Kerrie Ann Brown was murdered in 1986, in Thompson, Manitoba.
On the 30th anniversary of her death, the RCMP tried a new technique, Tweeting as if they were Kerrie Ann Brown herself, in the hope of shaking up new leads.
Trevor Brown says his sister's death completely altered the course of his life, changing him from an outgoing student to a high school drop out struggling with alcoholism and depression.
"I've never moved past this because I don't have the answers that I'm wanting," says Trevor Brown. "This could drive me insane, trying to figure out who did this. At the same time, I don't want to let go of it because she's worth it."
Coping with loss
Ashley Wellman is an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Central Missouri. She works with families dealing with cold cases, documenting their stories.
Wellman offers advice for neighbours or friends of those going through the experience.
"I think one of the greatest gifts we can give as fellow human beings is to listen," Ashley Wellman says. "Really being there to celebrate, to mourn, to support them - and really mean it."
Listen to the full conversation at the top of this web post.
If you have any information on the 1963 disappearance of Noreen Greenley, who went missing in Bowmanville, Ontario, at age 13, please contact Durham regional homicide unit (905 579 1520 ext 5400)
This segment was produced by The Current's Karin Marley.