Friends and family members who call themselves ‘Drag the Red’ are dredging up the secrets of Winnipeg’s Red River, hoping to find clues that will help police find some of the region’s missing aboriginal women.
‘Drag the Red’ founder Bernadette Smith says she started the group after the remains of missing aboriginal teenager Tina Fontaine washed up on the banks of the Red River in August. Fontaine’s death sparked renewed calls for a national inquiry into the high number of missing and murdered aboriginal women in Canada. But Prime Minister Stephen Harper has refused to launch an inquiry, saying instead that the issue is best left to regional police services.
Smith says her group is taking the search into its own hands. “We’ve always wondered whether there’s more bodies in here, especially in light of Tina Fontaine’s body being found in the water,” she told CTV Winnipeg on Sunday.
Smith’s sister, Claudette Osborne, went missing in 2008.
But the searchers aren’t just looking for bones and bodies. They’re dredging up anything that might be helpful for police.
Volunteer Neil Walstrom says they’ve discovered many items people don’t want found, including objects tied to cinder blocks and dropped to the bottom of the river.
Walstrom said he’s determined to shine light on whatever clues the river might be hiding. “The big thing is letting the families know that we care,” Walstrom said. “They’re not alone.”
Searchers hang a long metal bar off the back of their boat and drag it horizontally along the bottom of the river. Any time the bar hooks on something along the riverbed, they drag the item up and show it to police.
‘Drag the Red’ volunteers say they’ve already given police more than 100 items to examine.
Volunteer Kyle Kematch says he’s helping ‘Drag the Red’ with the hope of finding evidence linked to the fates of his missing sister and cousin.
“I’m not just sitting there, just wondering when anybody is going to do anything,” he said. “At least I can say I’m trying.”
Kematch’s sister, Amber Guiboche, went missing four years ago.
‘Drag the Red’ volunteers say they will stay on the Red River as long as possible ahead of the winter freeze. The search will then resume in the spring.
Volunteers have also been searching on foot along the riverbanks.
The ‘Drag the Red’ Facebook page has more than 1,900 members.
With files from CTV Winnipeg's Ben Miljure
