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Mysteries of the 'disappeared' and the 'missing'

Incidents leave families coping with sadness and trauma
raymond-yakeleya
Tulita-born Raymond Yakeleya is interested in all things paranormal. Send him your stories at ryy1954@hotmail.com

Several years ago, while filming in the Northwest Territories, and before I returned to Edmonton, I visited family and friends in Tulita.

The jet boat ride back to Norman Wells to catch my flight back to Edmonton was beautiful. The Mackenzie River in the fall was a visual feast for me as we glided over the mirrored water.

I spent a few days in Norman Wells with my sister, however, something unusual happened that still troubles me to this day. 

Along with my personal luggage, I had a video camera in an aluminum case, a tripod and my camera bag. Upon entering my sisterSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™s home, I carried my luggage and the video camera and about 10 seconds later, I went to bring in the remaining items. To my surprises, only the tripod bag remained. The camera bag was gone. These items were left only 15 feet away from the house. This all happened in about 10 seconds! 

Surely, I would have heard someone behind me, but nothing! I was inside a gated backyard, so a dog taking the camera bag was out the question, so was an eagle or owl from the air. There was no sound to indicate something was off. I remember walking the backyard looking under the house, nothing. To this day, nothing. Bill Stewart, a producer friend, said that the angels or ghosts were taking pictures and laughing. The camera bag never turned up. Now, on reflection, I find the silence, quickness and disappearance alarming.

"Do you think people can just disappear?" I was asked this most interesting and intriguing question several years ago by a published mystery writer in Edmonton. We were discussing the Highway of Tears in central British Columbia, where so many women have gone missing, many of them native. I thought long and hard about this and was not sure how to answer as I have heard a few stories about people who have disappeared or have vanished into thin air. How is that possible? I don't know, and it's certainly a head-scratcher.

Unsolved mysteries

A friend in Edmonton told me a story about her sister, a University of Alberta student. After studying for exams well into the night, in the early morning she decided to take a break and walked to a nearby convenience store for coffee. Her sister was later reported missing and was never seen again. Her body was never found, leaving her family to deal with this very difficult situation. Her room at her home in Wetaskiwin, Alta., was left as is SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” her family hoping she would come back. She never did.

A few years ago, in my hometown of Tulita, two people disappeared. It is strange to think that a place where I was born and grew up could hold such unsolved mysteries. This certainly troubles me as our people are kind and welcoming, but it happened! One person was an elderly female from Toronto who came off the tourist boat Norweta. She took a walk downtown, to the Great Bear River and then to the water intake plant. She was never seen again. The other person was J.B. Kochon, a Colville Lake man, who was in Tulita for a meeting of Sahtu leaders. In the evening after playing a card game, he left to return to his billet, he never made it. He was an experienced outdoorsman. People went out to look for him only to find out he was just gone. But where? No one knows. It was a troubling time for the town.

There are several NWT residents who never came back to us. My cousinSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™s daughter went missing and sadly she was found deceased while attending school in Yellowknife, All I remember is the trauma and sadness it created for the family. I was called by the Tulita asking me to be aware she might call if she ever made it to Edmonton. Sadly, she never did. There are number of stories where Northerners have just disappeared. It affects us all, and we can only hold out hope for these families as they go through this difficult time. We can only support them.  

Another young person to go missing was Frank Gruben, of Aklavik, while in Fort Smith. Being part of the family by marriage, it brought up sadness inside me all over again. I know what trauma it causes the family. I would like to add my weight and voice and encourage Fort Smith people and other Northerners not to give up looking for this young man as we need him and all others who are lost SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” they are our people. I would like to offer my prayers and condolences in this regard and hope for a good outcome.

I did some research in writing this article and found that reading books by David Paulides, an American author. 'The Missing 411' books on missing people have been a big help, and I would suggest to others to read these books to obtain a better understand on the mystery of missing people. I did not understand that there is a pattern to these disappearances. Patterns are the same in the U.S. and Canada. There are many paranormal anomalies that I am learning about, thus giving me a better understanding. When missing people are found, it seems that very few remember what happened. Very few can remember their experience, so we are no further ahead in knowing. 

I would say to Northerners to stay safe and look after everyone. Enjoy the summer!