My darling Cara, I visited your grave site today.  I don’t go regularly because you are with me in many places.  Still your special place in the cemetery is a public symbol that you are remembered, that you lived, and that you deserve to be honored in a peaceful setting.  My heart goes out to all the families whose loved ones are still missing.

Today is the midpoint of your birthdays; you would have been 43 years and 6 months.  You were only 22 when you disappeared; soon you will have been away from my world longer than you  were with me.

One of my Facebook friends is a lady I remember as a little girl when we lived at the same address 40 years ago.  She was a happy energetic child when you played together and is still one of the most joy-filled people I know.  Visiting her page and following the antics of her five amazing children never fails to bring a smile, although I wistfully wonder why it couldn’t have been you.

This week brought news of more MMIW.  The remains of an Alberta woman, Gloria Gladue, were found in rural Manitoba on June 17, 2018, two and a half years after she disappeared from Wabasca in October 2015.  She was 44 at the time and left behind seven children.  Another family’s heartbreak is confirmed.  A 68-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder.

A candlelight vigil was held in downtown Edmonton June 28 evening for a transgender woman, Murray/Myrah Whitstone who was found along a highway east of Sherwood Park on March 24, 2018.  She was 34 years old and was last seen two days earlier.  Police are reportedly asking for tips to help determine how her body ended up so far from where she was last seen.   Many women were found east of Edmonton around the time you disappeared.  I wonder if the killers have returned or if there are new ones.

A good news story is the “Lateral Love Campaign” posted on Facebook June 26.  It is an opportunity to celebrate people making positive changes in the community.  We all need to move forward together.