THE search for a North Vancouver woman who has been missing for five months has taken on new urgency after it came to light she may have been hitchhiking in northern B.C. when she vanished.
Angeline Pete, 28, was last seen in May preparing to board a SeaBus bound for her home in North Vancouver. In August, after three months without any word, family members reported her missing to the North Vancouver RCMP.
Investigators soon discovered she had not touched her social media or financial accounts in that time, prompting them to issue a release to media looking for tips from the public. Little new information came to light, and in September, the case was passed on to their serious crimes unit.
In recent weeks, the team has learned Pete might have hitchhiked through northern B.C. to the Peace River area of Alberta, a suspicion that has raised alarms. The stretch of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert, dubbed the Highway of Tears, has gained notoriety in recent years for a series of unsolved murders and disappearances of women. The unit is contacting media in some of the communities along Pete's suspected route in the hope they might turn up tips, said Cpl. Richard De Jong, a spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP.
"With the time lapse now and absolutely no contact with family, no financial communication at all and the potential of her hitchhiking to Kamloops and north, (investigators) thought we should canvass B.C. for any sightings of her," said De Jong. "If she's hitchhiking, maybe somebody picked her up; maybe somebody knows her whereabouts; maybe she's working part time somewhere.
There are all kinds of scenarios."
There is also an outstanding warrant for Pete's arrest for failing to appear in court, he said, although he emphasized police are focused primarily on her safety at this point.
De Jong passed along a plea from Pete's mother, Molly Dixon: "We just need to know that you are safe and sound and well looked after," she wrote. "Please call home. We love you, Princess."
Dixon held up a photo of her daughter at a press conference related to B.C.'s missing women inquiry Thursday, pleading for tips from the public.
Pete is aboriginal, 28 years old, five feet four inches tall and 150 pounds with long dark hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information should contact North Vancouver RCMP Const. Jaime Miles at 605-969-7519.
