Vancouver Police and Natasha Harrison have collaborated to release a new video documenting the last known whereabouts of Tatyanna Harrison, missing for more than seven weeks and last seen on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
“Each day that passes without finding Tatyanna increases our concern for her well-being,” says Constable Tania Visintin. “Tatyanna’s family, friends, and the community have been instrumental in helping establish a timeline of her last whereabouts. The VPD and Tatyanna’s family want to ensure that the entire community remains engaged in the ongoing search for Tatyanna. We are asking everyone to share this video so we can find Tatyanna.”
Tatyanna had been in regular contact with her family until the end of March, when she last texted her mother from a new phone number from somewhere in the Downtown Eastside. She was reported missing six weeks later, on May 3, but despite an investigation by police – supported by Tatyanna’s family, friends, and the community – there are no solid leads on her whereabouts.
“Tatyanna is a very strong and beautiful girl that’s a voice for people who suffer, or people who don’t have one,” Natasha Harrison says, in the video released today. “She’s articulate, she’s smart, she’s an avid reader, she’s fearless.”
“I’m putting out a plea to the public to help find my daughter. She’s 20 years old and she was last seen on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.”
Tatyanna had been staying in Surrey until about February 3, when she spoke with Surrey RCMP officers in the area of King George Boulevard and Bolivar Road, and told them she had nowhere to stay.
From February 9 to February 22, Tatyanna stayed at a shelter at 875 Terminal Avenue in Vancouver, where she was often seen in company of a companion.
On March 23, Tatyanna visited an RBC bank at Main and East Hastings Street to report her bank card lost. She got a new card, withdrew cash, and was recorded on video with a man who has not yet been identified.
The next day, Tatyanna sent her mother a text message from a new phone number. Although that was the last time she communicated with Natasha Harrison, there have been numerous sightings of Tatyanna in Vancouver, including on April 7 at Robson Park, and on April 22 at the Grand Union Pub near Abbott and West Hastings Street.
But Tatyanna never arrived to collect her social assistance cheque at the end of April, and her current whereabouts remain unknown.
“It is out of character for Tatyanna to have gone so long without speaking to her friends and family, who tell us her failure to reach out is an indication Tatyanna is in danger,” adds Constable Visintin. “That’s why we’re renewing our appeals for anyone who has information about Tatyanna’s current location or previous activities to come forward.”
Tatyanna is a 20-year-old Indigenous woman, who stands 5’1″, has brown eyes, and a slim build. When last seen, she had medium-length auburn hair, although her hairstyle and colour may have changed. She often wears prescription glasses and baggy clothes.
Tatyanna’s disappearance is being investigated by VPD’s Missing Person’s Unit, which is part of the department’s Major Crime Section.
If you’ve seen Tatyanna, if you know where she is, or if you have any information that can help locate her, please call VPD’s dedicated tip line at 604-717-2530, email vpd.missing@vpd.ca, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Details about provincial policing standards for missing person investigation can be found here.
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