RCMP put 2007 cold case back in spotlight

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This article was published 15/04/2019 (1831 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RCMP will be in St. Ambroise this week, seeking for information related to the 12-year investigation into the death of Crystal Saunders.

Saunders was last seen alive on April 18, 2007 in Winnipeg’s West End. The next day, a trapper found her body in a ditch near St. Ambroise, a small community about 100 kilometres northwest of the city.

In a release Tuesday, RCMP asked for the public’s help on the cold case. Project Devote, which investigates cases of missing and murdered women, is investigating.

“Investigators believe that the public may have information that could assist in bringing this case to a successful conclusion, and are asking the public to report anything, no matter how insignificant they think it may be, to police,” Cpl. Julie Courchaine told the Free Press.

She could not comment if police had any leads in the case, nor if they were planning to speak to specific people in St. Ambroise.

“Our investigators continue to work diligently on this case, as they are determined to seek justice for Crystal and her family,” Courchaine said.

Before her death, Saunders, 24, was involved in sex work.

In 2007, Sandra Saunders, told the Free Press her daughter was afraid for her life.

“She said she was being threatened — ‘They know I’m here, they know I’m around,'” she said. “She was so high, I didn’t take it seriously.”

She said she last saw Saunders getting into a car on Isabel Street the day before her death.

Her mother remembered Saunders as a bright, happy child who loved music, dancing and math. “She got caught up with the wrong people. She got addicted to crack. That’s what brought her to the streets.”

Police ask anyone with information to contact Project Devote at 1-888-673-3316 or Manitoba Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-847.

geralyn.wichers@freepress.mb.ca