It has been 19 years since Tamra Keepness went missing from her home in Regina.
An annual barbeque held in the community where the five-year-old girl was last seen reminds everyone that the search for answers is far from over.
“We still continue to search for her,” said FSN Vice Chief, Heather Bear. “She was and is loved by so many, not just her family but this community.”
In those 19 years, Keepness’ family and community have continued to search for answers among their grief, and this particular anniversary marks another difficult moment for the Keepness family.
Lorena Keepness, Tamra’s mother, passed away earlier this year at the age of 49.
She made an appearance on the TV show “Never Seen Again,” which highlighted the case and the impact it had on the family.
Two days after Tamra went missing, Lorena’s other two children were removed from her care, not making their way back to her until they reached adulthood.
“Lorena was an incredibly beautiful, complex spirit,” said Chief Erica Beaudin of Cowessess First Nation. “What we can look at is a path of injustice for Lorena in terms of the systems not working with her, but against her in order for her family to ever be reunited again.”
“The children who are now adults continue the fight for justice. They will never rest until she comes home, they will always fight for justice not only for their mother and their family, but for their sister as well,” she added.
The Regina Police Service (RPS) currently deems Tamra’s investigation a cold case, but they are still holding out hope for a break in the case.
“We haven’t forgotten about Tamra, we have an open investigation, we continue to receive tips, and we hope that one day, someone will give us that one piece of information we need to bring closure to the file and to the family,” said RPS superintendent Jeff Wagner.
Organizers of the event and police both say that there is still hope to one day find answers as to what happened to the five year old girl, who would have been 24-years-old this year.
