Missing Persons Week has been declared by the Government of Saskatchewan to run from April 29 to May 5, with the theme of “We All Have a Role.”
“These seven days are opportunities to raise awareness and to focus on what needs to be done to help prevent people from going missing,” Justice Minister and Attorney General Don Morgan said in the media release. “The more information people have about what their options are when family and friends go missing, the more likely we are to find these individuals and reduce the number of missing people in the province.”
To date, at least 126 people have been declared missing for a prolonged period of time. These persons, listed on the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police website, are called “long-term missing persons.”
“Most people can only imagine the heartbreak and anguish a family goes through when a loved one goes missing,” Corrections and Policing Minister Christine Tell said in a similar release. “As a province, it’s important that we come together to support the families of missing people and work together to address issues and improve our ability to prevent, intervene, and provide support in missing persons cases.”
Weyburn Police Service Chief and Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police President Marlo Pritchard says that this week has a three-fold mission. The first mission is to support victims’ families; second is to find those persons who are missing. But the third reason could arguably be the most important—to prevent people from going missing in the first place.
The Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons in Saskatchewan is one organization that has untaken to gather representatives from First Nations, government, police, Métis and community-based organizations to prevent, intervene, and support various cases involving missing persons in the Saskatchewan province.
For more information on how to assist families of missing persons, visit www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/family-and-social-support/help-for-families-of-missing-or-murdered-persons
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