Three years since she was last seen boarding the SeaBus, the family of Angeline Pete is holding out hope someone has information about her whereabouts.
Joined by members of Pete's family, North Vancouver RCMP held a press conference Thursday morning, renewing a plea for information about the First Nations woman.
"It's been very emotional and stressful. It's heartache. There are days I can't even sleep, wondering where she is or what happened to her. There are days I walk through the streets, hoping to finally bump into her," said Molly Dixon, Pete's mother.
The day before she was last seen at the SeaBus terminal, she'd been in a domestic dispute with her fiancé and learned that she was being sought by police for breaching a condition of probation, according to her family.
After spending three months trying to track her down through the travelling carnival company she had worked with during the summer months, her family reported her missing to police.
Since that time, police have followed up on more than 150 tips and done lie-detector tests to rule out false leads but the file remains a missing person case. Pete's bank accounts and social media profiles have remained dormant since she disappeared, police said.
Pete has been particularly missed by her 10-year-old son, said Pete's grandmother Eileen Nelson. She disappeared just days after celebrating his seventh birthday.
"He sent out a text to you earlier, on the Internet. He wanted you to come home for his birthday," Nelson said. "If someone's holding her against her will, please allow her to come home. Her son is lost without her and all of us are too," she added.
Pete's aunt Cary-Lee Calder urged other First Nations to spread the word among their people. The RCMP revealed last month that it has as many as 1,000 unsolved cases of missing or murdered Aboriginal women.
"I want to call out all nations chiefs across Canada to please forward this information to your people. We're a close people, us Indians. Our First Nations people are strong and I'm pleading with anybody to please, please share the word of our niece missing and let's bring her home. We've lost enough aboriginal women," she said. "Three years is too long. She belongs at home. She belongs to the nation. She belongs to her people and
to her family and mostly, my nephew.. ." The family issued a specific call for Pete's fiancé to come forward and help in the search.
"Our investigators have spoken to all persons of interest. (Pete's fiancé) is one of them. They interviewed him several times. He underwent a polygraph examination as well. At this point, there is no evidence to lay a charge against him," said Cpl. Richard De Jong, North Vancouver RCMP spokesman.
Pete is described by police as Aboriginal, 32 years old, standing fivefoot-four, with a weight of approximately 150 pounds. She has long dark hair, which she has been known to dye at times, and she has a tattoo of a butterfly on her chest.
Anyone with information about Pete is asked to contact police.
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