Police, family renew calls for information on disappearance of missing Manitoba teen
On the nights Lena Harper can't sleep, she stares out a window in her home on Wasagamack First Nation hoping to one day see her granddaughter walk up the driveway.
It's become a ritual for Harper since Tammy Nattaway, who was 16 at the time, vanished a year ago.
"I would look out the window thinking ... maybe we would see her on the road waving at me saying, 'I'm home,"' Harper said in an interview.
Manitoba RCMP say the teen was last seen in her community of Garden Hill First Nation on July 14, 2020.
Wasagamack, Garden Hill and St. Theresa's Point First Nations are neighbouring communities in the remote Island Lake region in northern Manitoba.
It's not uncommon for residents to go back and forth between the three.
Harper says in recent years Tammy would often stay at her place where she enjoyed hanging out with family and spending time with kids in the area.
Police say the family contacted officers on July 31, 2020, to make an official missing persons report after searches in the three communities were unsuccessful.
Those closest to Tammy say she's a quiet girl who likes listening to music or reading books on her phone. She is the second oldest in a family of nine siblings. Her mother says her daughter is timid.
"She wouldn't run off. She would barely even walk to the convenience store by herself. We always knew where she was. We knew something else was going on," Cecile Stephanie Nattaway said in an RCMP release earlier this month.
Officers have spoken to more than 100 people and searched land and water using helicopters, boats and sonar technology, but there have been no solid leads, said Tara Seel, Manitoba RCMP's media relations officer.
With tips and police searches waning, Mounties decided to renew a request for information on the one-year anniversary of Tammy's disappearance.
"If someone knows something, don't assume that we know it. It could be that piece that we're looking for," Seel said in an interview.
"There's a lot of rumours going around, which we look into of course, but it sure helps when someone calls us directly and tells us what they know."
Police suspect "foul play" in the teen's disappearance, but Seel said officers haven't ruled it a homicide.
Officers have relied on locals to help search the vast area. The communities are surrounded by water and wooded areas, which makes them only accessible by air in the summer and ice road in the winter.
Seel said having community support is important to the investigation. "To have the local knowledge contribute to our grid searching and our methodologies is beyond valuable."
Jack Harper is one of the lead co-ordinators who has organized community-led searches. Most recently, an underwater drone was used to search waterways near Wasagamack.
He said Tammy's disappearance, and the lack of answers, weighs on searchers.
"They sometimes get frustrated. Sometimes I can see some people in those searches can't really concentrate on their home. They're too busy thinking about her," he said.
Harper understands the frustration. He feels it some days, too, but said he won't rest until Tammy is found.
It's not the first time Harper has taken the lead on finding a missing girl.
He was part of the search for Teresa Robinson, 11, when she disappeared after leaving a birthday party in Garden Hill in May 2015. Searchers found her remains in a wooded area. It was initially believed she had been killed by a bear.
But injuries uncovered during an autopsy led to a lengthy homicide investigation that included RCMP collecting hundreds of voluntary DNA samples from males in Garden Hill.
More than 2 1/2 years later, a teen who had given a sample to police admitted he killed the girl while sexually assaulting her.
Harper said he hopes Nattaway's family can get closure soon.
The teen's grandmother is urging anyone with information to come forward. But while Lena Harper hopes to one day see her granddaughter again, she believes the worst has happened.
"We had this feeling last year that she's not with us already. We would like to do a proper burial for her."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.