North Battleford woman Ashley Morin has been missing since July 10, 2018. A walk to raise awareness about her disappearance is taking place July 10 to 12, 2020. (file photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Community support

Three-day walk for missing North Battleford woman Ashley Morin starts today

Jul 10, 2020 | 2:16 PM

Family and supporters are once again walking from Saskatoon to North Battleford to raise awareness of missing North Battleford woman Ashley Morin.

The second annual We Will Walk for You Ashley event runs from Friday (today) to Sunday, covering 138 kilometres from Saskatoon to North Battleford.

The event is being held on the anniversary when Ashley Morin, 31, disappeared on July 10, 2018 in North Battleford.

Spokesperson Krista Fox said the family is committed to finding Morin and continue to do what it can to get the word out she is still missing.

The family plans to have the walk four years in a row as part of the honouring tradition.

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“We will continue to do this and do what we can to keep Ashley’s name out there; keep Ashley’s face out there,” Fox said. “The only thing we want is to bring her home. So whatever we need to keep doing, to keep walking that highway every year for the next 10 years, I don’t care. It will continue.”

The launch of this year’s walk started with a presentation in Saskatoon on Friday morning, organized by the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations and the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS).

Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark, Saskatoon Police Chief Troy Cooper, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Vice-Chief Heather Bear, and Morin’s uncle Eugene Arcand, SPS Victim Services Manager Dorthea Swiftwolfe and Fox herself were expected to be among the speakers.

The walk participants then started their journey, travelling along Highway 16, toward North Battleford.

Fox said participants would follow the province’s COVID-19 precautions during the walk, wear face-masks where possible and maintain a social distance between households as best they could.

She estimated about 50 people would participate in the event. A sewing group in Green Lake donated 45 masks for many of those taking part.

Participants planned to walk alongside the highway in the daytime. Then, receive a shuttle back to the Battlefords in the evening each night to sleep. They will continue where they left off on the route when they return the next morning. Special ground-stake posters have been made for the participants to mark the path at every 10-kilometre point on the route. These stakes will then all be picked up at the end of the event.

Fox thanked everyone who donated meals for the families taking part.

“We are very fortunate this year we have the support that we do,” she said.

The group will receive an escort service this year from the RCMP Indigenous Policing Services, who will accompany them from beginning to end.

While many food donations have already been received, Fox is inviting anyone who wants to donate cold water drinks for the participants to drop them off along the route. People are also welcome to join the walk themselves at any point.

When the group enters North Battleford on Sunday members will walk into the downtown area and gather outside the Carousel Bingo parking lot on 101 Street where they will join in a meal.

Fox said she hopes the walk helps bring renewed focus on Morin’s disappearance.

She said whenever Morin’s case is highlighted in the news or in the social media “it seems to get people talking again,” which may one day help bring the answer as to Morin’s whereabouts.

“That is our whole goal, to be able to find her and bring her home,” Fox said.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW