Walk to honour Kendara Ballantyne five years after death

Kendara Ballantyne. (Source: Gloria Ballantyne-Packo)

The life of Kendara Ballantyne, an 18-year-old girl who was found dead in The Pas in 2019, is being honoured with a walk on Tuesday.

“She was so loving,” said Gloria Ballantyne-Packo, Kendara’s sister.

“She would light up a room that she would walk into. She was the main person that you could count on for fun and laughs at family events.”

Kendara was reported missing in The Pas on July 26, 2019. Nearly two weeks later, on Aug.6, her body was found behind the University College of the North.

Ballantyne-Packo said Aug. 6 has become an important day of healing for her family.

“It not only represents when we got the terrible news, but we’ve used it as a day to raise greater awareness to her case,” she said.

“But not just hers, but other missing and murdered Indigenous peoples’ affected families as well.”

The annual Remembering Kendara Memorial Walk will take place on Tuesday beginning at the University College of the North.

Following the opening remarks, the walk will travel through The Pas, ending at Kinsmen Park, where there will be a barbecue and speeches.

Ballantyne-Packo said the walk helps to show the reality of the situation.

“She’s not just a name, she’s not just another number, she was someone that we loved and someone who was involved in the community,” she said.

Though Kendara’s case has yet to be solved, Ballantyne-Packo said her family remains hopeful and will keep fighting.

“We have hope that one day Kendara will get the justice that she deserves,” she said.

“She deserves to be laid to rest and just peace and just to have that closed.”

- With files from CTV’s Daniel Halmarson and Danton Unger.