Walk participants gather at the end of the event Sunday. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

Not giving up hope

‘We’re still waiting for answers’: Three-day walk for Ashley Morin wraps up

Jul 11, 2022 | 12:02 PM

Shouting “Bring Ash Home,” family and supporters in the walk for Ashley Morin returned to North Battleford Sunday evening.

The large group completed the three-day walk from Saskatoon to raise awareness of the North Battleford woman who went missing in July 2018. RCMP believe Morin, 31, was the victim of a homicide.

Some walkers limped and wore bandages on their feet, weary and worn from the long trek. The Discovery Co-op welcomed them all with a hot dinner in its restaurant at the end of the event.

This marked the fourth and final year of the walk for Ashley.

“We’re still waiting for answers. That’s what these walks are for, in the hopes of someone coming forward,” Ashley Morin”s cousin Michael Bird said.

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“This is our last walk for Ashley because, in tradition, that’s how we do it, like the four elements, that’s how our culture works,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we are going to stop looking for Ashley. We are going to continue to look for Ashley.”

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Third Vice Chief Aly Bear, and Missing Persons Liaison Officer with Victim Services for the Saskatoon Police Service Dorthea Swiftwolfe also took part in the walk for Ashley to show support for the family.

“This being the fourth year, the fourth year is too long. Even four minutes, four seconds in time is too long to have a loved one missing,” Swiftwolfe said. ”If somebody knows something please come forward. The silence is killing our families. Every one of our families.”

Shown, left, Ashley Morin’s cousin Mike Bird and her mother Diane following the walk, and, right, Megan Gallagher’s father Brian (far right) and Megan’s stepmother Debbie (left) with Diane Morin during the walk. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

Missing Saskatoon woman Megan Gallagher’s father Brian and her stepmother Debbie also took part in the walk. Megan Gallagher has been missing since September 2020. Police are treating her disappearance as a homicide.

Megan’s sister Lindsey Bishop is currently walking across Canada with North Battleford’s Krista Fox for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW). Ashley’s mother Diane will be re-joining them on this year-long walk.

Brian Gallagher said the family wanted to show support for the Morin family on the North Battleford walk for Ashley because they understand their pain.

“We are living through the same kind of challenges, and supporting each other is an important thing,” he said. “When we’re walking, we’re talking. We’re looking for answers.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW