Loni Chum blowing out birthday candles. There is a $100,000 reward for information about her death. Photo: submitted
It has been more than a year since 21-year-old Loni Chum died from a fatal hit-and-run in Moose Factory, Ont., and police have yet to find who is responsible.
“I’m disappointed this case hasn’t been solved yet,” said Chum’s father, Robert. “People have been talking and they say it’s a community member, and it’s sad knowing that this person can walk around all year and not come forward.”
“(The incident) has left us with no closure,” Robert told APTN News. “My kids have had a rough year missing their sister. My spouse has been struggling as of late because of the emotions that come with Loni’s anniversary. Myself, my baby son Ezekiel, have been struggling.”
The deadly collision happened on Nov. 7, 2023 in Moose Cree First Nation in northeastern Ontario. Moose Cree or Moose Factory is a small fly-in community located on the James Bay coast in Ontario with a population of more than 5,100 people.
It was around 3 a.m. when the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a call of a woman found with critical injuries on Jaban Street. Loni was taken to hospital where she later died of her injuries.
A week later, the OPP released pictures of two pickup trucks seen in the area that morning between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m.
The photos show a red pickup truck and a dark-coloured pickup truck captured on surveillance video: the red truck at 2:40 a.m. and dark-coloured truck just 10 minutes later. Police believe one of the trucks may have been involved in the fatal hit-and-run.
Robert says the OPP’s latest update to the family is that police are waiting for forensic results.
“There is thousands and thousands of cases that have yet to be unsolved and Loni’s case is one of them,” he added.
In August, the Ontario government offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Loni’s death. Now, Moose Cree chief and council have doubled that to $100,000.
“There was a lot of interviews being done in the last few months since the $50,000 announcement,” said Robert, who believes drinking and driving and drugs were involved during that night, “and I’m sure there will be more after today. This (investigation) is taking long. We’re tired.
“It’s a big thing right now,” he added, “a lot of people have been doing it – late night accidents – and it hasn’t changed over the year. Still the same thing.”
Both the OPP and Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service have renewed their calls for the public to come forward.
Meanwhile, a one-year anniversary memorial walk is scheduled for Nov. 9.
“I really support all the love and support from my community,” added Robert. “We continue to pray and hope to find closure soon. I’m not going to stop until I have closure for my daughter. That’s my number 1 goal.”
Robert says Loni dreamed of being a hunter to provide for her family.
“She wanted to live off the land like her dad and great-grandfather,” he said. “She was so outgoing and not shy, she had a lot of friends; she was very sympathetic to others as well, very caring to even people she didn’t know.
“She would reach out to people on Facebook if she saw somebody struggling or somebody sad or heartbroken from a death, she would always reach out. She was strong, she was my strongest kid, and she was taken tragically in our own First Nation.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact OPP at 1-888-310-1122 and 1-705-329-6111 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) for a potential cash reward of up to $2,000.
