The effort to locate four women missing from the North-Okanagan Shuswap area is ongoing.
Both families of the missing women and a dedicated group of searchers will again be using a drone in an attempt to uncover new evidence about the women’s disappearances.
Caitlin Potts, Ashley Simpson, Nicole Bell and Deanna Wertz were all reported missing in 2016 and 2017 from an area between Sicamous and the North Okanagan communities of Enderby and Silver Creek. Eighteen-year-old Traci Genereaux’s remains were found on the Sagmoen farm on Salmon River Road in Silver Creek after it was thoroughly searched by police in October 2017. Curtis Sagmoen,37, who lived on the property where Genereaux’s remains were found, remains in custody facing several unrelated charges involving female complainants which include assault, discharging a firearm while being reckless, having face masked and uttering threats.
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Jody Leon, the organizer of past drone searches of areas of interest in the cases of the missing women says a new search is planned for the weekend of July 21-22. Leon said the families of the missing women will be joining the search. She added they will also pass out flyers on July 19 in hopes of soliciting new tips about the missing women. Any new information will be recorded and passed along to the RCMP.
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Using multiple drones and splitting into multiple search parties, Leon said the group plans to scour areas of interest in the cases of the missing women which have not been covered by previous search efforts.
Leon says the search group has not yet coordinated the exact areas to be searched, but one of the general areas will be near the intersection of 10th St. and 20th Ave. SW in Salmon Arm where RCMP officers canvassed for information relating to Bell’s disappearance. The group will also search logging roads between Enderby and Mabel Lake in hopes of finding clues in the disappearance of Potts and places in the Silver Creek area relating to the disappearances of Simpson and Wertz.
The searchers will be meeting at 10 a.m. on both July 21 and 22 at the Splatsin Community Centre in Enderby. Leon said the search is open to anybody, but they hope for help from people with drones, boats, ATVs or any other resources that might be useful. Those looking for more info can call Leon at 250-306-1240, or Wendy Mohr at 250-804-9752.
“We’re not going to give up on the women; we’re continuing to actively seek answers for the familes,” Leon said.
@SalmonArm
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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