'Things just don’t add up': Missing Saskatoon woman's best friend calling for answers
UPDATE: Dawn Walker and her son have been located, read the full story here.
Mary Culbertson has been best friends with Dawn Walker for 12 years and says each day has been different since Walker and her seven-year-old son went missing.
Walker and her son Vincent (Vinnie) Jansen were last seen on July 22. Her truck and some belongings were found the next morning at Chief Whitecap Park where she may have been fishing.
Walker has a list of accomplishments, including being the CEO of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN). Earlier this week she became one of three people nominated for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.
Culbertson calls her friend an avid reader and says she bought 20 books several weeks ago.
“She was an actress, she has all these great accomplishments that she never celebrated but her biggest accomplishment was being a mom,” Culbertson said.
However, while she has many strengths, making desserts isn’t one of them.
“Even though she tried to bake, you know, do Christmas baking, she just could not bake. I mean rice Krispies squares, if she could pull that off, that was a win,” she said.
Culbertson says Walker doesn’t need a reason for a celebration, saying she once held a birthday party for her son months before his actual birthday.
Walker is a proud Indigenous woman who cares about her community who wants to break generational trauma for future generations, Culbertson said.
“She could be under immense pressure and she would still just go through it with a smile and you’d never know that she was under all this pressure,” Culbertson said.
All the memories that Culbertson holds with her best friend give her the strength to believe that Walker and her son will be found.
“I hope somebody knows something and they’re going to come forward with information cause things just don’t add up.”
On Friday, FSIN will be announcing a reward for any information or tips that could lead to the safe return of Walker and her son.
Shopping Trends
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Alleged Montreal-area 'Chinese police stations' planning to sue RCMP for $2.5 million
Two Chinese community centres in the Montreal area are planning to launch a $2.5 million defamation lawsuit against the RCMP and the Attorney General of Canada after being accused by the police force of hosting 'alleged Chinese police stations.'
Lawyer in Ali murder trial says 13-year-old B.C. victim was not an 'innocent'
Ibrahim Ali's lawyer says the 13-year-old girl he's accused of murdering in a British Columbia park wasn't the “innocent” depicted in a “rose-coloured” portrayal by the Crown at trial.
'I cry all the time': Nova Scotia couple returns after 40 days in Gaza
It has been five days since Palestinian-Canadian couple, Khalil and Nabila Manna, returned from visiting relatives in Gaza, but while the couple planned to visit for a short-period of time, the Israel-Hamas conflict left them stranded for 40 days
With Canada set to reimpose cap on working hours, international students worry about paying for tuition, living expenses
Canada is set to reimpose the cap on the number of hours that international students can work off campus. But with heightened cost-of-living concerns in Canada, many international students say they're not sure how they'll be able to afford their tuition and living expenses if they can't work full-time.
Inmate stabbed Derek Chauvin 22 times, charged with attempted murder, prosecutors say
A federal inmate was charged Friday with attempted murder in the prison stabbing of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.
'Jumped over their heads': Kangaroo escapes Ontario zoo during overnight stay
The search for a kangaroo that escaped an Ontario zoo will resume on Saturday morning, according to staff and volunteers.
Mild, rainy winter expected as Canada warms at twice the global rate
Winter will be unusually warm and rainy across much of the country this year, according to the latest data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Here's how Air Canada's new baggage tracking app works
Air Canada is hoping to give its customers more confidence when travelling with checked luggage through a new baggage tracking feature.
Alleged victims speak out after a Waterloo, Ont. man posed as a CSIS agent and scammed women out of millions
Several women have come forward claiming they were victims of a romance scam by a Waterloo, Ont. man. Police believe he allegedly defrauded dozens of women out of more than $2 million over 15 years.
Regina
-
Former Sask. hockey coach found guilty of sexual assault and assault
Former Saskatchewan junior hockey coach Bernard (Bernie) Lynch was found guilty by a Regina Court of King’s Bench judge on Friday of sexual assault and assault stemming from incidents that took place in August of 1988.
-
'This will always be Saskatchewan's team': Riders' new coach introduces himself to province
On Thursday the Saskatchewan Roughriders confirmed they had selected former Toronto Argonauts defensive coordinator Corey Mace, as the team’s 48th head coach and on Friday he addressed the media and Rider Nation for the first time since taking on the new role.
-
Sask. First Nation uses wood from old grain elevators to build its first homes
A Saskatchewan First Nation is using wood from old grain elevators to build some of the first homes on its land.
Winnipeg
-
Suspect charged with 4 counts of second-degree murder in Winnipeg mass shooting
A suspect has been charged with four counts of second-degree murder in connection with the Langside homicide.
-
Manitoba government expands planned gas-tax holiday after criticism
The Manitoba government is broadening its plan for a fuel tax holiday after receiving criticism from farm groups, snowmobilers and the Opposition Progressive Conservatives.
-
'Moment of change': New lights make it safer for residents along Highway 59
A new set of traffic lights are now operational on Highway 59 which runs through Brokenhead Ojibway Nation. The improvement comes months after a tragedy witnessed by several residents.
Calgary
-
40-year-old man killed in brazen Beltline shooting: Calgary police
Calgary police say a man killed in a drive-by shooting in the Beltline on Thursday night appears to be from out of town.
-
Michigan regulators approve $500M pipeline tunnel project under channel linking 2 Great Lakes
Michigan officials approved a $500 million plan Friday to encase in a protective tunnel a portion of an aging oil pipeline that runs beneath a channel connecting two Great Lakes, leaving just one more regulatory hurdle for the contentious project.
-
Southern Alberta career college students get good news as they regain access to courses
CTV News received some good news from students at the career college of Academy of Learning.
Edmonton
-
Devon, Alta., town council will seek to disqualify Anita Fisher following jail sentence
An elected official for the Town of Devon should be kicked out of her council seat, the town's mayor said Friday, the day after she was sentenced to 120 days in jail.
-
Cyclist killed by hit-and-run driver in west Edmonton: police
A cyclist is dead after a crash in west Edmonton on Friday.
-
Edmonton Coun. Jennifer Rice offers apology, but says reports she bullied staff are 'inaccurate'
Jennifer Rice, the Edmonton city councillor for Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi, is disputing reports that she bullied staff and created a toxic work environment, but is still refusing to take questions about what happened.
Toronto
-
'Jumped over their heads': Kangaroo escapes Ontario zoo during overnight stay
The search for a kangaroo that escaped an Ontario zoo will resume on Saturday morning, according to staff and volunteers.
-
Worker dies after falling from home in Toronto's east end
A man is dead after he fell approximately two stories while working on an East York home on Friday morning, police say.
-
Toronto residents raise concerns over empty section of Yonge Street, awaiting demolition since spring
A block of storefronts along a major Toronto road has been sitting empty, covered in black paint and awaiting demolition, since the spring.
Ottawa
-
Gatineau, Que. Facebook Marketplace sellers using fake addresses to scam buyers
Residents of a Gatineau, Que. neighbourhood have been dealing with a string of strangers knocking at the doors of their homes looking to pick up their purchased products from Facebook Marketplace, but instead discovering they had been scammed.
-
OC Transpo bus drives off the road following collision in Ottawa's east end
A man was transported to hospital and three people were treated at the scene after a collision involving an OC Transpo bus resulted in the bus driving off the road and onto the sidewalk and grass.
-
Ottawa man, 38, charged with child pornography and extortion offences
A 38-year-old Ottawa man was arrested for allegedly extorting a 17-year-old girl from the United States for child pornography.
Vancouver
-
Sole survivor of Sea to Sky Highway crash on how faith, community are helping her unimaginable grief
Iris Paguia-Portillo was in the front passenger seat, and her brother James and two-year-old daughter Natalia in the back seat on their late night drive home from a church gathering on Nov. 26. Just 20 minutes from their Whistler home, she heard her husband Josefat Portillo scream as their car hit black ice and struck a tree.
-
City of Coquitlam requiring developer to hire 3rd-party engineer after shoring wall collapse
The City of Coquitlam has ordered the developer behind a construction project on Foster Avenue that suffered a catastrophic, caught-on-camera collapse Wednesday to hire a third-party geotechnical engineer as it works to remediate the site.
-
Highway 1 widening project to take years longer, cost $140M more than expected
Frustration is growing over a major traffic bottleneck on Highway 1 through Langley.
Montreal
-
Ile-aux-Tourtes bridge to be reduced to one lane each way for weeks: MTQ
Traffic on the Île-aux-Tourtes bridge will be reduced to one lane in each direction "for several weeks" as of Friday night, Quebec's transport ministry has confirmed. The eastbound portion of the bridge will be completely closed for about an hour starting at 11 p.m. Friday to redirect the lanes.
-
Que. teachers' union to make counter-offer, indefinite strike continues
FAE's indefinite strike will continue. Union heads say they've submitted a counter-offer to Quebec as the widespread education walkout stretched into its seventh day.
-
'Last-minute' amendment to Quebec health bill would allow agency to revoke hospital's bilingual status
A new amendment to Quebec's mammoth health-care bill would allow the new Sante Quebec agency to revoke a health-care institution's bilingual status — a move English-rights activists say is shocking.
Vancouver Island
-
B.C. police watchdog gets $2M funding boost to hire staff, cut investigation times
The province gave the IIO a $2 million budget lift for this fiscal year to fund 13 new positions, including seven in investigations.
-
Senior makes hundreds of wooden toys for children's charities despite debilitating condition
To appreciate why Lynndon Franz wears a Santa hat in his workshop, we need to go back to that day he got a nail stuck in his eye.
-
Special weather statement warns of high tides on B.C.'s South Coast
Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a special weather statement warning of extremely high tides on British Columbia's South Coast this weekend.
Atlantic
-
3 youths arrested after irritant sprayed inside Halifax-area school
Three youths were arrested after an irritant was sprayed Friday morning at a school in the Halifax area.
-
Woman, 25, charged with murder in Cape Breton homicide
A 25-year-old woman has been charged with murder in connection with a homicide in Cape Breton last week.
-
First heavy snowfall of December likely on Monday for parts of the Maritimes
A low pressure system moving out of the northeastern United States and passing along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia is likely to bring parts of the Maritimes the first heavy snowfall for December on Monday.
Northern Ontario
-
Sudbury Wacky Wings owner ‘heartbroken’ restaurant being expropriated, vows to reopen
While he’s a big supporter of what the city has planned for downtown, the owner of Wacky Wings on Shaughnessy Street says he and his staff are “heartbroken” they are being forced out of their location.
-
DEVELOPING
DEVELOPING Heavy police presence in New Liskeard
Few details are available, but there is a heavy police presence Friday morning near Highway 11 and Bedard Drive in New Liskeard.
-
OPP investigates deadly assault at Orillia long-term care facility
Provincial police are investigating the death of a resident at a long-term care facility in Orillia.
London
-
People growing angry over four year long ER closure, Huron mayor says
Four years ago, the temporarily closed sign went up outside the Clinton Hospital’s emergency room.
-
All evidence in at the murder trial of Robert Charnock
Both the Crown and the defence have wrapped up their respective cases at the second degree murder trial of Robert Charnock in London.
-
New multi-million dollar London medical supply plant fits like a glove
Medical supply manufacturer Medicom announced it will build a $165 million plant in London to produce medical grade nitrile gloves — the first plant of its kind in Canada.
