Yukon community left without any answers a year after Indigenous woman vanished

It's been a year since Ramona Peter vanished from the community of Ross River, Yukon and still no sign of her has ever been found. 

"People want answers," said Roberta Dick, a councillor with the Ross River First Nation, said.

"Someone can't just go disappearing in a small community like this without a trace." 

This past weekend, the community of Ross River — located 400 kilometres north of Whitehorse — held a feast to mark the one-year anniversary of Peter's disappearance. Peter, a member of Ross River Dena Council, was last seen on April 21, 2023, in front of the Dena General store. She was reported missing to police a few days later. 

At the time, several community members, along with the RCMP and the Yukon Search and Rescue (YSAR) team, conducted a search of Ross River hoping to find the missing woman. The joint operation was unsuccessful, but the community continues to hope for her return.

Dick says Peter's disappearance has taken a toll on residents' morale across the community. 

"It's more sad than before," Dick said. 

"You can tell the community is not that happy."

Posters that used to hold Peter's photo with missing person information are now stained by the weather, or even unrecognizable. Dick says she caught a few people vandalizing the posters, most of which she decided to remove a few weeks ago as a result. 

Chief Dylan Loblaw says it's the lack of answers that leaves the community unable to heal. He says not knowing the whereabouts of her disappearance makes it impossible to move on. 

"It's been just over a year now that we've had our missing sister ... and it's been emotional," he said.

"It's been challenging, not hav[ing] any answers. We're still struggling to move along. We're still looking for answers."

Necessary attention

Dick and Loblaw both said the disappearance of Peter led to some necessary change. 

Premier Ranj Pillai traveled to Ross River in May 2023, in part to respond to the band declaring a state of emergency on May 12, 2023. 

When the Ross River Dena Council declared the state of emergency, it called directly on Pillai to provide "immediate assistance as we continue to search for our beloved sister, including human and financial resources."

Dick acknowledged that the premier's visit led to some road and housing improvement. She said it brought attention to the community. 

"Ramona went missing and we are finally getting houses in our community," Dick said.

"If the Premier didn't come to the community, he would never know how our roads conditions were, or housing conditions … It shouldn't have to be that way though."

Loblaw says those improvements, however, haven't been able to bring closure to the community. 

"We're missing a sister, a relative and auntie ... a friend," he said.

"Things aren't the same without her." 

Loblaw says the investigation remains open. But he says the RCMP hasn't done a lot to search for Peter lately. 

Ross River Dena Council has put together a $20,000 reward, in the hope it will help find the missing woman.