A father from St. Theresa Point First Nation is heading home from Winnipeg with no news on his missing daughter.
Albert Shingoose said it’s very hard to go home without knowing where his daughter Ashlee is.
“We’ve been talking, my wife and I, about what to look out for, what to do during the search,” he told APTN News. “It’s very hard as a father.”
Shingoose said searching for his daughter, 31, missing since last year, has been emotional for him. Bear Clan volunteers helped search an area in downtown Winnipeg on Wednesday but found no sign of her.
Shingoose has searched for Ashlee whenever he is able to make the long trip from his reserve, about 464 km north of Winnipeg.
Albert and his wife care for several grandchildren in St. Theresa Point, including two of Ashlee’s three children. He said searching is exhausting.
“It’s tough, for the past two weeks since I’ve been here, I’ve been looking, looking every night. Sometimes, I stay out until 2 o’clock in the morning, come home from trying to find out where she is,” Shingoose said.
He said the high-profile Winnipeg serial killer case had him re-look at the investigation into Ashlee’s disappearance.
Ashlee was last seen in the area of Henry Avenue and Main Street on March 11, 2022.
Police have identified three women who may have been victims of alleged serial killer, Jeremy Skabicki. A fourth unidentified victim is known only as Buffalo Woman.
Shingoose said they’ve provided DNA samples for comparison to the Winnipeg Police Service.
“Myself, my wife, and my oldest daughter have provided DNA, and they said 30-60 days for the results to come back,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s not—I don’t want to think in a bad way, I want to think in a good way that she’s—still around.”
Winnipeg Police are not commenting on the investigation and would not confirm samples have been provided.
Search team members from St. Theresa Point and Bear Clan Patrol members said while there have been sightings reported to them in recent days, none have been confirmed to be Ashlee.
