Update: Located Safe! https://missingpeople.ca/breaking-news-dawn-walker-and-her-son-vincent-jansen-located-safe-in-the-united-states/
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The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations is searching for a missing staff member and her seven-year-old son.
FSIN issued an Amber Alert, separate from the official ones typically made by police, to spread the word about Dawn Walker, 48, and her son Vincent Jansen, who were last in contact with friends and colleagues on July 22.
Walker has blond hair and brown eyes, while her son has brown hair and brown eyes, a news release said.
Police officers found Walker’s red Ford F150 at the Chief Whitecap Park south of Saskatoon. They also discovered personal and recreational items, Saskatoon Police Service deputy chief Randy Huisman said.
FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron told a media conference that a blanket was also found near the river.
A passerby found Walker’s purse on Saturday morning and turned it into RCMP, Huisman said.
Saskatoon police officers and the RCMP are conducting searches by land and water to find the missing pair.
Police officers didn’t issue an Amber Alert because they didn’t believe Walker and Jansen’s disappearance met requirements for the measure. Criteria typically involves the suspected abduction of a minor, Huisman said.
Huisman couldn’t comment on whether foul play is suspected.
Cameron said FSIN issued its own Amber Alert via media and social media because “(we) know that wasn’t the official system, but it’s our official system.”
Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan Mary Culbertson told reporters it fell to Indigenous organizations to take those measures because other channels are unresponsive.
“When it comes to systems for our people, we always have to be on alert to protect ourselves, our women (and) our kids. Nobody is going to go out of their way to do it for us so we have to do it ourselves,” she said.
Community members have to rely on networks of social media, family and friends instead, she said.
“The provincial system and government system doesn’t work for us. It never did. It’s not meant for us,” she said.
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The concerns expressed over the lack of an Amber Alert echoes those shared by advocates pushing for a national Indigenous alert system after police didn’t issue an Amber Alert for five-year-old Frank Young, a Red Earth Cree Nation member. Young’s body was discovered earlier this month after a prolonged search.
Cameron said he remains optimistic about finding Jansen and Walker, who is the chief of staff for FSIN and acts as a quarterback for the organization.
She was supposed to leave for this week’s papal visit to Alberta when concerns rose over her absence, Cameron said.
“Like any other parent or loved one, you know something’s wrong. You feel it in your gut,” he said. “You feel it in your heart when someone is missing, when they didn’t respond and when they didn’t communicate when they usually do.”
He’s encouraging anyone with information on Walker and Jansen’s whereabouts to report it to police.
