Krista Fox and Ashley Morin’s sister Janine were sitting in their car, literally on the edge of their seats, when they got a call from RCMP.
They believed they were about to get the closure they’d been waiting a year to hear.
“The investigator came on the phone. He was really good at saying it all very fast: ‘We found a body. We don’t believe it’s Ashley,’” Fox, a Morin family friend, told CTV News at the intersection in North Battleford where Ashley Morin was last seen.
Morin, 31, went missing last summer. RCMP are now treating her disappearance as a homicide.
On Wednesday, RCMP announced human remains, found in a rural area near North Battleford, belonged to 25-year-old Tiki Brook-Lyn Laverdiere.
The Edmonton woman was last seen in North Battleford in May.
“You have mixed feelings,” Fox said.
“In one moment you want to it to be her so that you can move forward. But on the other hand you, you don’t want it to be her because you have hope — you believe she’s still out there and we may be able to get to see her again.”
Fox said Morin’s mother and Laverdiere’s mother talk frequently, as both of them have a parallel struggle.
The two became close during a three-day walk, from Saskatoon to North Battleford — which aimed to raise awareness about Morin’s disappearance.
Searching for closure
Fox said she hopes the development in Laverdiere’s case, can help RCMP make findings in Morin’s case.
“We need to find our girl. We need to bring her home. I believe everyday we’re getting closer, and all that’s gone on with Tiki — that may bring us closer,” Fox said.
Earlier this month, RCMP released a picture of a two-toned van with no windows. RCMP said the van, last seen at 96th Street and 16th Avenue, could have a connection to Morin’s disappearance.
Anyone with any information about Morin is urged to contact police.
