Candice Wheeler is heartbroken to learn that her older sister’s funeral was missed in January. It’s not that I didn’t want to be there, I just didn’t know it was happening.
Now, Candice and her family in Calgary are looking for answers about how the authorities did not notify them when Courtney Wheeler died in December 2021 and was buried the following month.
“There was no one there, no flowers … and it just means no one cared,” Wheeler, 36, said.
“She was much loved and deserved better.”
Courtney Wheeler’s family wants to know why they were not notified before her funeral in January this year. (Submitted by Candice Wheeler)
In most cases, when a person dies unidentified or unclaimed, the chief forensic doctor’s office can identify and locate their relatives within hours, depending on the province.
If not, the province says the office will continue to search until all efforts have been “exhausted”.
But the Wheelers say they did not learn of Courtney’s death until months after it happened, and even then, they did not receive the news from officials. Instead, they found out about her through social media.
This has left them wondering how diligent the search for Courtney’s relatives really was.
Chrissy Wheeler said unanswered questions about her sister’s death have made it difficult to find closure. (Paula Duhatschek / CBC)
It’s especially troubling, they say, as it appears to be the second similar case in Calgary in a few months. In February, Tara Niptanatiak died and was buried in the city the following month, without her family knowing at that time in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.
“Who allows this to happen?” said Chrissy Wheeler, 44, who is Courtney’s older sister.
The family learned of the death via Facebook
When Candice Wheeler first found out about Courtney’s death, she hadn’t heard from her middle sister in months.
This was not without precedent. In the years leading up to her death, Courtney struggled with homelessness and the rise of addiction, and is known to have fallen off the map for weeks or even months before resurfacing.
But in late May, Candice received a Facebook message from a friend of Courtney’s who had learned of her death after another friend stumbled upon a brief online obituary, posted by the funeral home that organized the burial.
Candice Wheeler, whose family is part of the Cumberland House Cree Nation, believes authorities may have been more lax in searching for her sister because she was an Indigenous woman. (Paula Duhatschek / CBC)
Worried, Candice called the police emergency number. She was redirected to the chief forensic doctor’s office, which confirmed her sister’s death.
Candice said she was told that Courtney and a friend looked like they had been smoking when they both fell asleep. The friend woke up; Courtney no.
Candice said she was also told that a search had been done for a month of Courtney’s relative before her case was moved to the office of the guardian and public trustee. This office works with local funeral homes to arrange burials for those whose families cannot be found.
But the Wheelers say they shouldn’t have been so hard to find.
“Some stranger found us,” so why didn’t the officials do it?
Candice, Chrissy and her mother, Marie, all share a surname. They live in the same city and have not moved or changed phones for years.
Candice believes police reportedly had her information on file for a missing persons report she filed for her sister in 2019. (At the time, Courtney was located shortly thereafter). Courtney was known at the Calgary addiction treatment facility, which would have had Marie’s information on file as a family contact.
The three women also appeared on Courtney’s Facebook page as members of her family, which was how Courtney’s friend first met them.
“A stranger we don’t even know found us to let us know he was dead,” Chrissy said. “If a stranger could find us, why didn’t the police find us, or whoever [is in charge]? ”
In response to questions from CBC Calgary, the Calgary police service said it cannot comment on specific non-criminal cases due to privacy legislation.
The service said that when deaths are attended to by Calgary police, it is usually the responsibility of the main forensic doctor’s office to identify and locate closest relatives, with the help of police and other organizations.
Courtney Wheeler, on the right, appears with her mother, Marie. (Submitted by Candice Wheeler)
According to the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, privacy legislation also restricts the chief forensic doctor’s office and the office of the guardian and public prosecutor from disclosing information about specific cases to the media.
In a statement, a spokesman said the forensic doctor’s office will work with police, the RCMP, the government and non-governmental organizations to identify the closest relatives and search until all efforts have been “exhausted.” .
“Unfortunately, sometimes it is not always possible to locate family members in a timely manner, especially if the deceased does not have an identity document, there is a family separation, names have changed or the family lives in other jurisdictions in Canada or internationally, “the spokesman said. Katherine Thompson.
Thompson said the ministry is looking for ways to improve the process of identifying relatives, including establishing agreements with other Canadian jurisdictions.
Courtney Wheeler appears in family childhood photos. (Submitted by Candice Wheeler)
“Someone cares”
The Wheelers say the province’s process of finding a relative looks good. They just don’t believe it was followed in their case.
And although the family hopes to know more about how the search unfolded and why the authorities were unable to find them, they suspect they already know.
Candice Wheeler believes Courtney was stereotyped as a homeless indigenous woman and that the authorities were lax because they assumed no one cared about her.
“In fact, someone did it and he cares,” he said. “We want to make sure they know now.”
They hope that by sharing their story, they can prevent this situation from happening again. Candice noted that the problem is not limited to Alberta. In 2020, a Toronto man named Seth MacLean he died of an overdose at a shelter and was buried in nearby Pickering while his family frantically searched to find him.
“It’s happening too much. Families are being deprived of the ability to say goodbye to a loved one,” Candice said.
Ever since she learned of Courtney’s death, the Wheelers have organized a small memorial service to say goodbye. It helped a bit, but they say there’s still a lot of pain.
“It’s hard to move on normally through pain when you have all these unanswered questions,” Chrissy said.
Growing up, Courtney Wheeler enjoyed riding her aunt’s ranch. (Submitted by Candice Wheeler)