(Photo: Carson and Regina Poitras)
The family of Happy Charles held a public demonstration today outside of the Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) building to mark the 8th anniversary of Happy Charles’ disappearance.
Charles was 42 years old at the time of her disappearance. She was last seen on surveillance footage walking at the Prince Albert Collegiate Institute at around 11:50 p.m. on April 3, 2017.
Her family has been very vocal and persistent in their efforts to try and find Charles, but they stated that effort and communication regarding the case by the Prince Albert Police Service has fallen short over the years.
“We’re frustrated, upset, and concerned that nothing is being done with our case, and we were promised several things and nothing happened. Last year we had a meeting, and nothing has happened,” explained Charles’ stepfather, Carson Poitras.
Poitras stated that during the meeting he and his family had with the PAPS last year, they were assured that renewed energy and awareness campaigns would be implemented by the police service, but to date nothing has been done.
“I just want to see more action. I want to see more families finding their missing loved ones, and I want the police to actually do the work that MMIW has assigned the money for,” stated Charles’ mother, Regina Poitras.
Many individuals gathered to support Charles’ family today, including the family of Ashley Morin. Morin has been missing for 7 years now and was 31 years old when she was last seen in North Battleford in July of 2018.
(Photo: family of Ashley Morin)
“It goes to show that you’re not alone. Unfortunately, the way we met Happy’s family is not good, so we try to support Happy Charles’ family as much as we can,” stated Morin’s sister, Janine Morin.
Both families are calling for not only the Prince Albert Police Service but police and RCMP in all jurisdictions to do better when it comes to communicating with families and searching for missing people.