My Quest
It was a phone call that would dramatically change the rest of my life. A call
that would remain embedded in my memory. On Dec. 16, 1998 I received a call from
our daughter Angela's social worker, in Vancouver. It wasn't unusual to hear from
Eileen, as we would often speak to each other concerning Angela. This day was
one neither of us will ever forget.
Allow me to go back in time a bit in order for you to understand how this all
came about.
November 1998 I had sent Angela one of many photographs and letters. We live
a considerable distance from Vancouver and Angela loved to receive things from
home. I always sent Angela's mail to the office of her social worker. Angela stopped
there often and one of the workers there would relay messages to Angela to call
home. On the afternoon of November 10, 1998 Angela called home. This was the second
phone call I received from Angela in early November. She was very exuberant, as
Eileen had taken her out for lunch followed by having her haircut at a local hair
salon school.
Angela was very bubbly and excited. When I close my eyes I can actually hear
her laughter and talking a mile a minute. Prior to Angela's call Eileen had taken
a few pictures of Angela with a Polaroid camera. This was a lovely gesture on
Eileen's part to take photo's to send home for us. Angela was absolutely thrilled
with the idea. She was excitable as a small child. Having her haircut and pictures
taken was indeed a very special day for her. As usual when I spoke to Angela at
the office she would pass the phone around so I could say hello to the staff.
Angela was half reading my letter to me on the phone while conveying to the other
workers the silly antics our pet Schnauzer's had got into at home. She was in
such a good mood and adored the pictures I sent.
It was November and Angela had prepared her Christmas wish list for me. She wanted
to make sure I would tell her grandmothers what she would like for gifts that
year. She even began asking me when I would start sending out her Christmas parcels.
Before long our phone call ended. Little did I know this phone conversation would
be the very last time I would ever hear Angela's voice.
Eileen's Workplace
December 16, 1998 I received "the" phone call from Eileen. She called to inform
me as a parent I have the right to know something has happened to my daughter.
She told me she had a mother/daughter relationship with Angela. I recall the word
missing and something terrible may have happened to her. Eileen was vague about
what she was alluding to and didn't elaborate. The conversation left me rather
perplexed.
I thought how could Angela be missing when she lived in the eastside of Vancouver
for nearly eight years. My brain was still muddled much of the time from a head
injury I had sustained earlier that year from a car accident. I informed my husband
of the conversation and we both felt someone must have offered Angela a ride home,
so she could surprise us for Christmas. If the call had been from a police department
informing us of Angela's disappearance the reality and gravity of the situation
would have hit us immediately.
I called the social workers office a few times each week to see if they had heard
from or seen Angela. Eileen was away and would return to work in the New Year.
I notified the other workers of the information Eileen called me about earlier
in the month but they quickly dismissed it by telling me not to worry. I spoke
with different workers each time I would call. I was told the same thing repeatedly.
Not to worry Angela will show up, you know how she is, she probably met up with
someone and will turn up. This was reassuring and we expected Angela would phone
or be home soon. Christmas was fast approaching and still no Angela. Offices were
closing for the holidays and I made another attempt to obtain word about Angela
before everyone left for Christmas.
One day when I called the social workers office Steve answered the phone. He
told me (they) a few other workers had gone to the morgues in surrounding areas
such as Burnaby, Surrey and no Jane Does had come in. I was taken back by this
information. One minute I was told nothing to worry about and on the other hand
these people were checking morgues. He told me this was encouraging news and Angela
most likely is with someone. (I later found out these areas are considered the
dumping grounds for disposing of bodies)
Now you have to understand we never had a phone call from any police department.
The social workers that knew Angela so well did not tell us this was cause for
great concern. There had been absolutely no mention of other women disappearing
in the eastside of Vancouver. We were uninformed of the situation in that area
as many others were and still continue to be. I strongly feel if they had been
open with us from the very beginning things may have turned out entirely different
regarding Angela's disappearance. Each time the phone would ring we would all
hold our breath and pray it was Angela. Each time we heard someone at our door
our hearts would skip a beat expecting to see Angela.
Christmas came and went and no Angela. We kept telling ourselves she has to be
with someone. Perhaps she's sick and too ill to travel or call. Maybe she's stranded
somewhere. I would look out the windows of our home and I remember the snow. I
was worried she may have ended up stranded somewhere in the mountains and was
cold. So many scenarios would run through my mind. New Years came and went and
still no Angela. Not one phone call from anyone in Vancouver.
By this time we knew in our hearts something happened to Angela. She regularly
called home. When she didn't phone us during the Christmas holidays was beyond
unusual. With the help and support of friends we began our search for Angela.
The Sparwood Christian Center opened a trust fund to help us locate our daughter.
The past year had been a difficult one. I was injured in a car accident and my
husband lost his job from cutbacks. We were extremely grateful for the support
our small town provided. It was ironic the photo's Eileen had taken of Angela
on November 10, 1998 were to be vital for her own missing person posters.
Angela's Missing Poster
The first time I called Crimestoppers was one of many red flags warning me of
things amiss. I felt it was imperative to have their phone number on Angela's
missing person posters that were in the process of being made. I'm sure the person
I talked to must have thought I was plain crazy insisting I had a missing daughter.
I kept persisting Angela was missing and I needed to put the Crimestoppers phone
number on the posters. The woman working there emphatically informed me I was
mistaken, as there was not anyone by that name in the database. I called two more
times and on each occasion different people gave me the same response. Angela
was not in the CrimeStoppers database. This had turned into a surreal experience.
Eileen returned to work after New Years. I was fed up with excuses from everyone
and I wanted answers. This conversation with Eileen was entirely different from
when she called me back in December 1998. She talked about Angela in the past
tense and her attitude was reserved. She told me I could call her anytime if I
needed to talk. I asked her when was the last time she saw Angela. She told me
it was at a meeting at Oppenheimer Park in the eastside of Vancouver on Nov.20,
1998. The meeting was called "Out of Harms Way" a community discussion with an
international panel of drug reduction experts. It was a large gathering of 700
or more people in attendance. Angela wore a dress that Eileen had bought for her.
Eileen mentioned she would often buy Angela things. The dress was a satiny material
and a bright pink color. Eileen told me she sat on a park bench with Angela during
the rally. Angela bought her tea and Angela pretended it was her party. At times
Eileen's voice would waiver and she would compose herself as she recalled this
day. Eileen told me she marveled at how Angela could make up such stories that
sounded so genuine. She watched Angela as she made her way among the people weaving
her tales. I could picture Angela in my mind pretending to be the hostess of such
a large event. She told people she was police Chief Bruce Chamber's daughter.
She went around telling everyone I was sending her Christmas parcels soon. Angela's
close friends (Liz & Mark from the Portland Hotel) where Angela resided attended
the meeting. There had been a film crew shooting footage for a documentary about
the eastside. After giving Angela $5.00 for helping out at the function Liz watched
Angela leave the park between 3:30 - 4 p.m. that afternoon. Angela gave Liz a
quick kiss on the cheek and off she went. Angela has not been seen or heard from
since. She vanished without a trace.
I was trying to find the logic in all of this but it was baffling. I wanted to
know who was in charge of Angela's investigation and why the Vancouver Police
Department never bothered to notify us. January 18, 1999 I phoned Eileen and asked
what person to contact at the Vancouver Police Dept. concerning Angela's case.
Eileen gave me the phone number of a constable that worked at the eastside community
office and he knew Angela. She told me he's a good guy and will be very helpful.
I left a message on his pager and the officer returned my call January 19, 1999.
He was very apologetic for not returning my call sooner. The constable told me
he was aware of Angela and he knew it was uncommon for her not to show up at the
office where he worked. She would drop by often to say hello to everyone. He then
proceeded to inform me Angela was now one of eleven women that have disappeared
from the eastside in 1998 and there are many, many more that have vanished. So
many in fact he can't keep up with them all. His wall is plastered with missing
women posters. My head was reeling with this shocking information. My brain was
trying to absorb each word. His voice became distant as I listened to a possibility
of a serial killer, no clues, and social status. I recall telling him I need to
speak to the person in charge of Angela's case. He gave me the name and phone
number of a detective in the missing persons department. The constable was very
polite and sympathetic. He informed me I could call him anytime if I needed someone
to talk to.
Downtown Safety Office
As soon as I finished talking to the constable I immediately phoned the detective
at the missing persons department. I informed him who I was and that my daughter
Angela Jardine was missing. I asked him why the Vancouver Police Department never
called to inform us our daughter had disappeared. He told me the reason was because
she was an adult. If my mind was boggled before it was more confused than ever.
I didn't understand the reasoning and told him social services has on file our
name and phone number to be contacted in case something happened to our daughter.
I knew this information to be correct, as Eileen and I had discussed this on several
occasions. I still cannot fathom why a detective would make such a judgment call.
I could not comprehend his explanation for not informing us about Angela's disappearance.
I have my husband as a contact person in case of an emergency. I'm sure countless
people have other family members or friends to be used as contact people when
the need arises. This is considered a very normal procedure people do. It was
a red flag that instantly shot up.
The detective then proceeded to tell me he had called the Sparwood RCMP detachment
and they were unaware of whom Angela was. Here was another red flag. I thought
how strange to call the police in Sparwood and neglect phoning the parents. I
then asked him to fax me a copy of Angela's missing persons police poster. I felt
it was imperative for me to have in my possession a copy of Angela's missing persons
police poster.
He informed me he couldn't do that, as he hadn't gotten around to doing any up
yet. They were in the process of making a poster of Angela the day of my call.
He informed me they must have a photo of her somewhere on file. I offered to send
one of the photographs Eileen had taken November 10, 1998 of Angela. It was recent,
Angela's face was in full view and it was very clear. I thought it would be very
suitable for the police posters.
He insisted they had a photo and would use it. Now this was January 20, 1999
when the detective returned my call. Angela was last seen November 20, 1998. Two
months had past leaving a very cold trail. There had been no contact with family
to inform us of her disappearance or any action taken in regard to an investigation.
Any other person would have had an investigation. Family and friends would have
been contacted; something would have been done. If Angela did indeed have a file
it was sitting on a shelf somewhere collecting dust. The time lapse was so long
Angela could be anywhere.
If she were dead and in another province or country how could a police agency
identify someone who wasn't listed as missing in the first place? Angela rarely
carried a purse or a wallet with identification. In all likelihood it was possible
for her body to be found and she would be considered a Jane Doe. Her body would
be disposed of within the jurisdiction or country she was discovered in. Now we
will never know, we will never have closure.
This became an overwhelming amount of information to digest.Within a 24-hour
time period I was told of possible serial killers preying on women from the eastside
to finding out there was basically a non-existent investigation concerning our
daughter's disappearance.In my opinion this was the beginning of an overflow of
excuses and neglect. There are absolutely no words to describe how I felt at this
point.
As Angela's mother, I could not stand idly by and allow this neglect to continue.
I vowed to Angela I would not give up and allow her disappearance to be treated
as if she were a disposable person. The police take an oath to protect and serve.
This applies to ALL people. I have always been a habitual note taker. I jot down
names and dates of calls automatically for some reason. This was to be a blessing
later on. On a daily basis I conducted my own investigation from our home. I would
have my agenda planned out for the day juggling calls between physiotherapy and
doctor appointments. I was suffering from untreated injuries from a motor vehicle
accident I was involved in early 1998. I continue to suffer from considerable
pain and discomfort on a daily basis. My brain was sluggish, my speech was slow,
and I often mumble a lot from the jaw injury. At times, it is very painful to
talk or move my mouth often because of this injury. My right shoulder and thorax
is damaged from the seatbelt. Handwriting and typing is extremely uncomfortable.
I did have the telephone to communicate and decided it was time to figure out
how to use a computer. I plunged myself into the world of cyberspace with basically
no knowledge of the workings of it. I often felt exasperated and extremely frustrated.
I wasn't able to travel to Vancouver because of my injuries. This left me feeling
helpless and often alone in this battle. I tried calling Victim Services and requested
help. They couldn't understand why I would require their services when I'm not
the actual victim.
I told them I am a victim. I'm the mother of a missing daughter and I don't know
where to turn for help. This was another door that closed for me. I later found
out parents are considered primary victims, along with siblings and other family
members. Secondary victims are friends, co-workers etc.
People have asked me how I was able to find the strength to accomplish what I
did under the circumstances. Coping with the loss of a daughter, my injuries,
pursuing a police department, investigating, conducting interviews with the media,
and eventually filing a formal complaint against the Vancouver Police Department
for Neglect of Duty.
There were also personal issues to contend with in our daily lives. I had to
separate myself from the role of Angela's mother to an outsider looking in. If
I did not detach myself, it would become too emotional. To continue searching
and looking at every possible avenue requires mental stamina. I'm sure many parents
with missing children of any age would agree. When I look back, I feel I gathered
my strength from a combination of " Mother Fury " tenacity, determination and
a lot of help from a higher power. Without having a strong belief in spirituality
I seriously doubt that I would have been able to accomplish or endure what I did
under the circumstances. My quest for the truth and seeking justice for Angela
continues to be a powerful motivation.
The month of February 1999 was very chaotic. On a daily basis from my home I
made many long distance phone calls to Vancouver. It was a network of people who
would inform me of other persons to contact. The majority of these individuals
were strangers. From Sparwood I was able to obtain pertinent information that
I would try to pass on to the detectives at the Vancouver Police Missing Persons
Department. I found out Angela picked up her welfare cheque November 17, 1998
from a caseworker by the name of Don at the John Seller Center. It was ludicrous
for anyone to think Angela had been roaming the streets of Vancouver without money,
warm clothes, and most importantly not contacting Eileen, Mark, Liz or phoning
home. The Vancouver Police did not check Angela's room at the Portland Hotel.
Her belongings were not looked at. The Portland Hotel has security video cameras
to monitor who enters and who leaves the building. People have to sign a logbook.
More red flags. Police did not interview Mark and Liz at the Portland Hotel who
were caregivers to Angela. The Portland was Angela's safe haven. To me it would
be obvious to talk to everyone and anyone involved with Angela.
I had been informed one of the detectives finally went to the hotel mid- February
1999. We are aware she didn't look at Angela's belongings as Mark had placed them
in a safe place. These items were not requested.
On February 1st, 1999 I phoned the constable and the detective again and left
messages for them both. The constable returned my call February 3, 1999. He informed
me another young woman from the Portland Hotel had disappeared. Her name was Michelle
Gurney. He mentioned there would be a meeting the following week at his office
with some of the media present. He had been interviewing a few of the girls that
have survived attacks. He was looking for patterns in all of this madness. He
was very concerned about the missing women. The detective in charge of Angela's
case returned my call the same day and he told me of a sighting of Angela at Victory
Square. During February, he notified me of numerous sightings of Angela. She was
seen standing in line at a soup kitchen to walking in a park in the eastside.
She was walking two dogs on Vancouver Island in Victoria BC. Of course all of
these sightings were false. Angela was a very vocal person and she could not go
unnoticed by anyone. If she had been at a soup kitchen everyone there would have
noticed her presence. The utmost important feature about Angela was her loud mannerisms.
She was extremely vocal and very noticeable wherever she went. Angela was mentally
handicapped with personality disorders. It was beyond her capability to behave
like a normal person. Her intellect was at an age of a ten to eleven year old.
Angela did not have the capabilities to relocate or assume another identity. The
Portland Hotel was her home and the eastside was her community. The detectives
and police officers were aware of this.
I expressed my concern about these inaccurate sightings to the detective. I felt
it was cruel on the detective's part to give me such false hope. I informed the
detective it has to be someone that physically resembles Angela. She was an average
looking person with brown hair, brown eyes, medium height and build. This description
would match literally thousands of women. I informed the detectives I would locate
this woman whom everyone is mistaking for my daughter. I asked them, "will you
take Angela's case seriously and begin to investigate her disappearance if I find
this woman." They wanted to know how I would do this, and whom I was going to
call. I told them I didn't have one single clue to go on. But I would start phoning
and phoning until someone eventually would tell me something. One detective told
me I was not calling to inform her of my actions. The detectives told me I was
withholding information from them. I thought how absurd. I am a mother of a missing
daughter and now I am being accused of withholding information from the police.
With the assistance of several people from Vancouver, we located the young woman
people were mistaking for Angela. This finally cleared up the misconception that
Angela was roaming the streets of the eastside.
The detective finally had gotten around to making the missing posters up of Angela
the first week of February. I realized he was busy and had other priorities. I
requested that he send me a copy of the VPD missing persons poster of Angela.
I received the police poster of Angela from the detective February 5, 1999. It
was outdated and she looked absolutely horrid. Her hair in the picture was blonde
and it looked like a computer-enhanced image. I phoned and left a message for
the detective that I was sending out a recent photo of Angela by priority mail
that was taken November 10, 1998 by her social worker Eileen.
Vancouver Police Building
During the month of February we were in the process of making our third batch
of posters. I phoned Crimestoppers in Vancouver and the person I spoke to on this
occasion was the supervisor. Ironically, he had worked in Sparwood at the RCMP
detachment a number of years ago. He had known Angela and the area's she frequented
in the eastside. He located her file and expressed his concern to me. With a huge
sense of relief on February 8, 1999, we finally were able to place the Crimestoppers
phone number on the posters. The posters were sent all across Canada, the United
States, border crossings, and weigh scales for truckers. Someone came up with
the brilliant idea of placing all of Angela's data and her photograph on a disk.
This was distributed to churches across North America. Family Tracing made trips
to the eastside of Vancouver searching for Angela. The help we received from our
community and elsewhere had been deeply touching. We are forever grateful to the
many people who contributed their time, efforts and monetary contributions.
The amount of information I have is very extensive. I'm trying my best to condense
important factors of an investigation of a missing person that were overlooked
by neglect or for some other obscure reason. There had been numerous bungling
attempts regarding Angela's investigation. I called the detective March 8, 1999
and asked if Angela was entered into the RCMP ViCLAS database system. ViCLAS stands
for Violent Crime Linkage Analysis. The system specializes in tracking serial
killers and rapists. It also runs a Rapid I.D. check within seconds to match a
missing person to found human remains. The detective became very irritated with
me. I knew it was the responsibility for the detective in charge of a case to
fill out the ViCLAS booklet with information regarding the victim. He told me
he had passed it on to someone else to fill out and didn't know what happened
to it after that. A detective has 60 days to fill out the RCMP ViCLAS booklet
and a patrol cop has 30 days. On March 3, 1999 The Vancouver Sun newspaper ran
a huge two-page spread about the missing women from the downtown eastside of Vancouver
including photographs. By coincidence Angela and five other women were entered
into the ViCLAS database the following day.
I knew dental records were vital and must be included in a missing persons file.
On March 19, 1999 after several phone calls to Vancouver I managed to locate Angela’s
dentist in the downtown eastside and asked him if anyone from the Vancouver Police
Dept. had contacted him requesting her dental charts. He was shocked to learn
Angela was missing and informed me there had been no one from the VPD requesting
anything about Angela. After I got off the phone with the dentist I called VPD
missing persons dept. The detective in charge of Angela’s case was out again and
I spoke to his partner. She told me she was certain her partner was up on all
of this and inquired if Angela's dentist was located in Sparwood. I thought this
was rather an absurd question considering Angela resided in Vancouver all of these
years. I gave this detective all the necessary information, name, phone number
and address of dentist, last appointment Angela had with him, x-rays taken January
1997, and her last appointment was February 1998. I requested the dental information
be placed in her file.
I was disgusted and frustrated with the botched job of the so-called investigation
regarding Angela. I decided to file a formal complaint with The Police Complaint
Commissioner's Office. I spent literally hours upon hours reading and printing
out police codes and conduct. I did not want anything to jeopardize my complaint
because of a technicality. It took me a considerable amount of time to gather
all the pertinent information. I finally submitted my complaint July 28, 1999.
I had an interview with Internal Affairs and was informed the allegations I was
making against a police officer were very serious. It was all a matter of perception
between two people. The detective and myself, and one that was of a very gray
area I was told. Angela vanished and really had no investigation to speak of.
Yet, the career of this officer was the utmost importance.
I have learned during this tragedy discrimination, status issues and racism flourishes
in our country. These were things our middle class family would never have fathomed
until a crime touched our souls severing all normality in our lives. It brought
into focus how we view society issues such as equality. I quickly learned not
all missing people are treated the same way as someone in a higher social status.
Not all people are treated the same as other individuals. The color of skin, where
people reside, habits the person may have are all contributing factors of how
the system views a person. As a result of Angela's disappearance I have become
an advocate for missing people and am trying to help other families find closure.
The following: Complaint to The Police Complaint Commissioner and the replies
from the Vancouver Police Department regarding my allegations.
My Complaint to Police
Office of Police Complaint Commissioner
My Reapplication for Appeal
July 8th Complaint
Decision Stands
For The Love of a Daughter
Thesis by Michelle Weflen
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