This is Cecilia Anne Nikal (her name is sometimes spelled Cicilia, depending on the source).
She is a 15 year old indigenous woman who went missing in October of 1989. I am not going to lie, the lack of information on this case is heartbreaking. Here is what we know: She is the cousin of Delphine Nikal (covered in another post) and Roberta Cecilia Nikal who was murdered. In October 1989 Cecilia went to visit her mom in Vancouver, BC, but then left and was never seen again. Some sources say she "chose to live on the streets" after leaving her mother's home, some say that she moved to Vancouver Island, and some say she disappeared off of Highway 16 (the dreaded Highway of Tears where Delphine also disappeared from).
I think using the word "chose" about living on the streets paints her with an odd hue of blame and bad choices. She was 15 years old! What made living on the streets a better choice, if it was a choice, than living with her mom? Also, her family reported her missing, so obviously she was expected somewhere. The question is, who reported her missing? Was it her mom or was she living with other family members?
If she was living with other family members, why would the police believe she chose to be homeless if she had a home to go to?
Other remaining questions:
- Why do some police think she disappeared from Vancouver, while others say Highway 16?
- Were there witnesses that saw her hitchhiking back along Hwy 16 and that's why they think she could have disappeared there?
- Who was the family member who said she went to Vancouver Island? WAS THAT EVER FOLLOWED UP?
- Were there any suspects?
- Did she live in Smithers with her other family or did she live in Vancouver, or somewhere in between?
- What does her family think happened to her?
- Were police alarmed that 3 girls from the same family all disappeared or were murdered in a short frame of time?
- Were there news reports about her? (I couldn't find any that weren't behind a paywall)
Too many unanswered questions.
Want to Learn More About MMIWG?
Our page is just a drop in the bucket of information out there on this topic! Here are some great sources that we have come across:
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (Canada) https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA https://mmiwusa.org/
CBC’s database on MMIWG (Canada) https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/
Justice for Native Women (USA and Canada) http://www.justicefornativewomen.com/
The REDress Project (Canada) http://www.redressproject.org/?page_id=43
