SASKATOON -- Walking under a partly cloudy sun with temperatures reaching up to 32 C, family and friends of Ashley Morin pushed forward on Highway 16, beginning their walk in Saskatoon on Friday and reaching their destination of North Battleford on Sunday.
CTV News joined the family on their 150 kilometre walk on Saturday afternoon.
“Most of us are athletic or do a whole lot of jogging or sports so its been tough. There’s lots of sore muscles, sore feet. Its blistering hot out today but we will push through our pain because nothing compares to the pain that our girl, Ashley Morin is still not home,” said Krista Fox, adopted family member and spokesperson of the Morin family.
The walk marks the second anniversary of Morin’s disappearance. The 31-year-old went missing on July 10, 2018 from North Battleford and she was last seen on the corner of 96th Street and 16th Avenue in North Battleford at around 9:30 p.m.
RCMP believe Morin was a victim of a homicide. During the investigation, RCMP said Morin’s cell phone, social media and banking activity suddenly stopped since she was reported missing.
The Morin family says there have been hundreds of tips but nothing substantial to bring Morin home. There is also a $20,000 dollar reward for those who can help find her or lead to an arrest.
“We have no clue where she may be, if anything happened to her, of course we hear the rumours and nasty stories but in actuality, we have no clue where she might be so this is why we continue to do these walks,” said Fox.
Morin’s grandmother and grandfather Eugene and Sylvia Arcand joined in on the walk, along with many close relatives, cousins, aunts and uncles. Fox says Morin was also a strong athlete and many of her teammates and competitors also joined in on the walk.
“Ashley was an avid sports player, she won FSIN soccer championships six times, she played hockey. Throughout these last two days we had girls and young men join us throughout this walk,” said Fox.
Missing signs made and paid for by the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) have also been staked along Highway 16 for motorists to see and be reminded.
“We want to thank SPS for the signs. The walk has been amazing. People don’t realize that, that little honk, that little wave, that little stop saying, ‘How are you guys doing? You’ve come so far,’ absolutely means the world to us,” said Fox.
Last year investigators released a blurry image of a two-tone windowless van believed to be connected to Morin’s disappearance. The family says neither the driver nor the van has been found.
“That white van threw us for a loop. We didn’t even know about it and when it went to the media, when the picture was posted, it was the first time we heard about it. We don’t know who owns the van and nothing about it,” added Fox.
Investigators with Major Crimes told the family that the Morin case is their number one case and they continue to follow any tips or leads. For three days starting July 24, Prince Albert Search and Rescue and the family will search various locations investigators got tips about where Morin may be.
Fox wants to thank everyone who has helped with the search for her.
“Anybody who has helped us these last two years. Whether its a hug, a bottle of water, whether its a $100 donation or $1,000 donation, to all of those businesses and people, we thank you and we can never thank you enough from the bottom of our hearts.”
Fox also wants to send a strong message to the person or persons responsible for Morin’s disappearance.
“Don’t think we’ve given up and don’t think we’ll ever give up because we are going to bring her home.”
