The family of a young woman whose body was found near Merritt earlier this month confirmed her death was by suicide.
Jaqueline McDermott, 22, tragically took her own life after battling mental health issues she kept to herself.
“She shared with no one but her journal how she struggled with a darkness that was the cost of sending out so much light,” said her mom Nathalie St-Maurice on a social media post.
“Her strength and joy masked the fear and sadness deep within her.”
McDermott had been out west for six months since she travelled across the country in a retrofitted van from her home in Kitchener, Ontario.
She was reported missing Oct. 1 and was last seen on the highway near Merritt the same morning. Her body was found by B.C. Search and Rescue Teams on Oct. 8.
St-Maurice wants her daughter’s suicide story to be shared in hopes it will prompt more open conversations about mental health issues and reduce the stigma around them.
“The fact she died is horrible,” she said in a message to iNFOnews.ca. “The fact that she took her own life is shocking and needs to be shared so that another Jaqui can be saved by asking for help.”
