Saskatoon police will deploy a plane to help search for an indigenous leader and his young son who have not been seen since Friday evening.
Dawn Walker, who is well known in the Indigenous and literary communities, was last seen Friday evening at a business in the 300 block of Owen Manor. She may be with her 7-year-old son Vincent Jansen, police said.
He is described as five feet six inches tall, of medium build, with blond hair and brown eyes. Her son is four feet two inches tall, slim build, brown hair and brown eyes.
Walker, also known as Dawn Dumont Walker, is the Chief Operating Officer of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) and is a noted author. He also ran for the federal Liberal Party in Saskatoon in 2021.
“She’s a Treaty Four member, she’s a First Nation mother, she’s been an advocate for all sectors of the federation and she’s been our Chief of Staff for almost a decade,” FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said in a press conference on Monday. “Dawn is the FSIN quarterback.”
Dawn Walker was last seen on Friday. (Presented by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations)
Around 9 a.m. Monday morning, police found a red Ford F-150 pickup truck belonging to Walker at the Chief Whitecap Dog Park in south Saskatoon. Some of her personal belongings were found nearby, but there was no sign of her or her son.
Also, Saskatoon police say, someone had discovered Walker’s purse near the area Saturday morning and turned it over to police.
Police say Walker has not been in contact with friends or family, which is out of character.
The FSIN issued a press release early Monday morning, saying they believe Walker is “at significant risk.”
Saskatoon police say they plan to deploy a plane to search the area around the dog park, including the river, and are asking the public to avoid the area so it doesn’t interfere with the search.
“Our thoughts are also with Dawn’s family,” Deputy Police Chief Randy Huisman said. “We remain hopeful that we will have a positive outcome here.”
Despite the age of the missing child, Saskatoon police say the case does not currently meet their standards to trigger an Amber Alert.
However, the FSIN launched its own unofficial Amber Alert in an attempt to find the family.
“Within First Nations country, when we know there’s no communication with parents, friends, family, you know something’s not right,” Cameron said. “We know in our gut and in our hearts that something isn’t right.”
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Walker or her son is asked to contact the Saskatoon Police Service at 306-975-8300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.