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
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Being harassed at work? What to consider when deciding what to do next
If you've been the victim of workplace harassment, it can be difficult to feel you're not alone - and even more difficult to know where to go with a complaint.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Half of Canadians support TikTok ban, with U.S. concerns 'trickling' north: poll
A new poll indicates 51 per cent of Canadians support banning the social media app TikTok, after a U.S. bill aiming to do just that passed in the House of Representatives.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.