RCMP confirm Tia Blood found dead in Lethbridge County – https://missingpeople.ca/rcmp-confirm-tia-blood-found-dead-in-lethbridge-county/
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The family of an Indigenous woman who went missing last week is pleading with the public for information about where she is.
Tia Blood, a 34-year-old mother and student, left her home in Lethbridge on Wednesday evening to run a quick errand and messaged her family at 9 p.m. that she would be back soon, but she never returned home, according to Tia’s sister, Cara Blood.
“We haven’t heard from her. Even just her being away from the house for the night would be unusual given the fact that she’s never been away from her baby for more than a couple of hours,” Cara told Postmedia on Monday.
Her family reported Tia missing to Lethbridge police on Friday. She was last seen driving a black 2017 Chevrolet Silverado truck on Wednesday in the West Highlands area of Lethbridge, according to Lethbridge police.
Lethbridge officers launched an investigation and Tia’s cellphone was tracked to the Cardston area, about 80 kilometres southwest of Lethbridge, according to the police in a news release Monday. Lethbridge investigators brought Blood Tribe Police and Cardston RCMP in on the case.
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Cara said her brother-in-law spotted the black truck in Cardston on Saturday while her family searched for Tia and reported it to police. There were two people in the truck, but neither was the missing woman.
Lethbridge police said a man and woman were found inside the truck but fled the area. The two are currently considered persons of interest in the investigation and have been identified, though their identities were not released by police.
Tia is described as an Indigenous woman, who is 5’3” tall and about 170 lbs. She has mid-shoulder length hair and has the word “CADE” tattooed on the back of her neck. When she went missing, she was wearing dark-coloured clothes and could be walking with a limp because of a recent injury.
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“At this point, our family and extended family have searched all over the place. We’ve searched downtown Lethbridge and other areas,” said Cara.
She said her family has taken it upon themselves to search for Tia because they don’t feel the police have taken the situation seriously from the start. Cara said police didn’t take a statement from her until Sunday, four days after Tia had gone missing and two days after they initially reported her gone.
“We’re conducting mass searches of Lethbridge, Cardston and the Blood reserve and right now, we’re just looking for further support and getting more boots on the ground to search for her,” Cara said.
Tia lives a very normal life and disappearing like this is not normal, according to her sister. Tia is attending school to upgrade her courses so she can get into a nursing program, while caring for her two children, including a toddler.
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“She would never leave her kids for more than a couple of hours,” said Cara. “It’s not like her to completely ghost, not only us but her friends too. She wouldn’t willingly give up her phone or her truck.”
Tia’s family is asking anyone with information about where she might be to come forward.
“We’re desperate at this point,” she said.
In a statement on Monday, the Blood Tribe Police Service said the ongoing missing person investigation is being led by Lethbridge police but Blood Tribe officers will assist as needed.
Lethbridge police declined to answer questions about the situation when asked by Postmedia on Monday, saying no further will be released at this time.
Lethbridge police are asking anyone with information on Tia’s whereabouts to call them at 403-328-4444, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or p3tips.com.
