Highway 16 - particularly the stretch of 720 kilometres between Prince george and Prince Rupert, has been a targeted area for what could be a serial killer (or just a series of unrelated murders and kidnappings) since as early as 1969.
On October 12th 2007 it was released by the RCMP that 18 women have either been murdered or gone missing along this stretch of road. Most of these women are between the ages of 14-25 and are of aboriginal descent. The majority of these females were travelling alone, hitchhiking their way to their final destinations.
Below is a list of the 18 women who remain missing, or have been found dead along Highway 16.
1. Gloria Moody, found dead in Williams Lake, B.C. 1969
2. Micheline Pare, murdered in Hudson Hope, B.C. 1970
3. Gale Weyes, killed in Clearwater, B.C. 1973
4. Pamela Darlington, found dead in Kamloops, B.C. 1973
5. Colleen MacMillen, murdered in 100 Mile House, B.C. 1974
6. Monica Ignas, age 15. Last seen alive just west of Terrace in Thornhill, B.C. December 13th 1974
7. Monica Jack, killed in Merritt, B.C. 1978
8. Maureen Mosie, found dead in Kamloops, B.C. 1981
9. Shelly-ann Bascu, missing from Hinton, B.C. since 1983
10. Alberta Williams, age 24. Last seen alive leaving Popeye's Pub at 2:30 AM in Prince Rupert, B.C. on August 27, 1989
11. Delphine Nikal, age 15. Last seen while hitchhiking from Smithers to Telkwamissing B.C. on June 13, 1990
12. Ramona Wilson, age 16. Last seen alive while hitchhiking between Smithers and Moricetown B.C. June 11, 1994
13. Roxanne Thiara, age 15. Last seen alive in Prince George, B.C. in July 1994 and found dead near Burns Lake B.C. in August 1994
14. Leah Alishia Germaine, age 15. Found dead in Prince George, B.C. in December, 1994
15. Lana Derrick, age 19. Missing from Terrace, B.C. since 1995
16. Nicole Hoar, age 25. Last seen hitchhiking west of Prince George B.C. Missing since June 21, 2002
**Of this list of 18, Nicole Hoar is the only caucausian women. 2002 was the year when the majority of media coverage of Highway 16 began.
17. Tamara Chipman,age 22. Last seen hitchhiking outside of Prince Rupert, B.C. Missing since Sept. 21, 2005
18. Aielah Saric-Auger, age 14. Found dead on Highway 16 east of Prince George, B.C. in February, 2006
All 18 of these cases remain unsolved.
Our objective behind creating this blog was to raise awareness about safety along Highway 16, as well as women’s general safety while travelling alone. We strongly urge women to avoid hitchhiking or picking up hitchhikers at all costs, to communicate details of your travel plans with someone you trust, to carry a cell phone if at all possible, and finally, to follow up with a friend of family member once you have reached your final destination.
-Jess and Julia.
