UPDATE: Missing woman on Red Pheasant Cree Nation found deceased

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Emotions are raw as a search is underway on Red Pheasant Cree Nation for 33-year-old Jana Laliberte, who was last seen April 5.

“It’s a really overwhelming time for the family, so we’re just trying to be here to support one another,” said Tara Sinclair, first cousin, who spoke with battlefordsNOW.

“It’s really surreal what’s happening right now, I think we’re all in a bit of shock still as to what we’re actually doing.”

A command operation and muster point were set up at the Chief Glen Keskotagan Community Centre and members of the community and family began the task of finding the woman they lovingly call their “little birdie.”

According to Cpl. Jennifer Brewer, First Nations community policing liaison with the RCMP, they started around 9 a.m. for debriefings before breaking off into teams.

“Right now, we’re doing the search in hopes that we’ll find her. If we don’t, we’ll have to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new plan,” she said.

Laliberte, is described as 5-1 and about 120 pounds with long black hair with highlights and brown eyes, glasses and a left arm tattoo. She was last seen leaving a property near Highway 40 and Brewer explained they don’t have much to go on, but they do know Laliberte has a lot going on in her life. The officer also said Laliberte has friends in North Battleford, family in Winnipeg and her mother is in Regina. It may be a possibility she is trying to reach them, she said.

“We were able to narrow it down last night, so we will do this ground search today. If we don’t find anything for the ground search, we’ll go back…interview the people again, call around hospitals, shelters, things along those lines and we’ll double back and do the work again.”

As community members made their way to the muster point one resident who didn’t want to give their name said it was “a sad, sad case” when one of their members is missing. They said their own son had passed, and that they hope for a better outcome.

“We’re hoping that this young girl is found safe and come home here and with that, a lot of prayers and blessings to the family.”

Sinclair, originally from Flying Dust First Nation, said she came from Meadow Lake yesterday to join in the search efforts and explained family was coming from Saskatoon and out of the province to help. Laliberte’s cousin said the situation was one no family ever thinks will happen to them until it does, and she has had other close friends and family members that have either experienced the loss or were victims.

“Ashley Morin – my sister-in-law – that’s her first cousin, Brian Gallagher, Megan Gallagher, we played ball,” she said.

“It’s too close for comfort and it’s happening far too often, and it seems to be so easy for our people to just go missing, up and disappear.”

As people started making their way back for a lunch break, Ryan Bugler, from the band office spoke of the severity of the situation.

“I want to offer gratitude,” he said.

One of the roads leading from the muster point that volunteers travelled down in efforts to find Jana Laliberte. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW)

“I’m thankful to everybody here coming to offer support as well as yesterday.”

Bugler explained some members of the leadership were out looking in the back pastures and he said it was crucial they continue to show support.

“Always keep that communication open. If anybody knows anything of the situation, don’t hold back, share what information that you have.”

Sinclair said she just got word that a young woman who went missing on FDFN just days earlier had been found but that her body was frozen.

“We’re really hoping and praying for a better outcome in this situation and that we find Jana, and the people that were with her, I hope they speak out and they understand how serious this is,” Sinclair said.

“She does have family that love her and that care about her and just like every single one of these other missing people that, you know, they do have family, they do have communities that they belong to and they’re not – they’re not disposable.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: julielovett.bsky.social

by Julia Lovett-Squires

UPDATE: Missing woman on Red Pheasant Cree Nation found deceased

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