Noelle “Elli” O’Soup, an Indigenous girl reported missing from her home in Port Coquitlam, BC more than a year ago, died in early May in a Vancouver apartment, according to authorities. She was 14 years old.
Noelle, a member of Key First Nation in Saskatchewan, was one of two people found dead in an apartment on the corner of Heatley Avenue and Hastings Street on May 1 in the city’s Strathcona neighborhood, police said. Vancouver in a statement. Police said the cause of his death is unknown.
“This has become a family tragedy that our families and communities are experiencing,” Coun said. Solomon Reece of Key First Nation in a written statement.
“We need systemic action and change at all levels of government to safeguard our children and protect vulnerable members of our community. Their death affects us all.”
Police say the cause of death of 14-year-old Noelle O’Soup is unknown, and that her major crimes section, which includes the homicide, robbery, assault and arson unit and the missing persons unit , is investigating. (RCMP)
Kukpi7 Judy Wilson, secretary-treasurer of the Union of Chiefs of India of BC, said that the long period of time that Noelle was missing and that the delay of weeks from her death to the notification of her family raises questions about the priority of their life.
“Indigenous women and girls missing and murdered and Two Spirit are always fired, denied and delayed,” Wilson said. “And unfortunately, this is another tragic end to that.
“There are too many statistics and too many cases, and it continues and needs to be stopped.”
Police describe the search efforts
The Coquitlam RCMP said Noelle originally left her home in Port Coquitlam, east of Vancouver, on the night of May 12, 2021 “without permission.”
Mounties said they actively sought her out and tracked every piece of advice she received. They are now assisting Vancouver police and the forensic service as they investigate Noelle’s death.
Three deaths since February in a Strathcona apartment are being investigated by the forensic service. One of the dead was Noelle O’Soup. (Mike Zimmer / CBC)
“The Coquitlam RCMP offers its deepest condolences to family and friends and thanks the public and the media for their help with the investigation,” a Mounties statement said.
The Vancouver police department said that until earlier this week, when the coroner identified the body, it was not known that Noelle was one of the two people who died in early May. The family was alerted Wednesday, after making the identification.
“Committed to finding answers,” police say
The coroner said a total of three deaths are being investigated in the apartment building. In addition to the deaths in early May, a 40-year-old man died in the same apartment on February 23.
The forensic service would not give further details about any of the deaths, citing ongoing investigations.
Vancouver police said their major crimes section, which includes the homicide, robbery, assault and arson unit and the missing persons unit, is investigating Noelle’s death.
“Noelle’s death will raise many questions in the community and we are committed to finding answers,” a Vancouver police spokesman wrote in an email.
“If, during the course of this investigation, we determine that there is a risk to public safety, we will notify you immediately.”
Wilson says he hopes the research will lead to answers for Noelle’s family, but he also says Canada’s colonial systems need to be reformed so that Indigenous children like Noelle don’t fall into the cracks.
“We really have to deal with all these different policies from the Doctrine of Discovery and also from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to get justice,” Wilson said.
“That’s what our people are looking for: justice.”