Canada - Dawn Dumont Walker, 48, accused of abducting her son and faking their deaths, Saskatoon, 23 Jul 2022

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OllyInTheTrolley said:
If she was scared of someone in the sons family hurting him wouldnt anyone she leaves him with not have to give him back to the family?
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I haven’t noticed any published allegations whatsoever insinuating child abuse or fear the child would be harmed. Domestic abuse generally involves two adults. A seven year old child would surely be old enough to verbally indicate whether or not he was subjected to child abuse, to be addressed by the courts, no need to kidnap him IMO.
 
kritafo said:
I don't see her doing all this for no reason - maybe she was being just selfish, but we don't know. She had to know they would follow the money, cell phones etc.
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I wondered about her purse being found a couple days prior to her truck. If she had earlier lost or misplaced the purse possibly she was already leaning toward the sharp cliff of a paranoid breakdown, thought someone was out to get her and that was the beginning of her downward spiral?

Whatever she saw as the reason must not have been logical to anyone other than her because surely she’d know she’d eventually be found and abducting a child and illegally crossing the border to the US is against the law.

JMO
 
This has blown up her life a lot. She had to know being found, charged, losing custody were possible outcomes.

So to put everything in her life on the line like that reeks of desperation, of thinking there's literally no other way out.

I think there's more to the story that we don't yet know, something that would drive a working, successful mother to desperate measures.

MOO.
 
Parents abducting children and taking them to a foreign country is not that unusual. When we hear about children taken by a father to, for example, Iran, the mother is not viewed as having done something to justify the abduction. I think that a mother abducting children should be viewed in the same context - that the parent abducting the child is the one with the problem, not the parent that was deprived of the child.

I'm reminded of another recent abduction of two young girls by the mother's family. The father did not do anything wrong. In the end, it appeared that the mother was very angry with the father for having moved on with his life. Similarly, there were allegations of abuse that were investigated, and there was no substance to it. It was nothing more than a very acrimonious custody dispute.

globalnews.ca

Aunt, grandmother of previously missing Alberta girls charged with abduction | Globalnews.ca

The children were reported missing on March 12, when their father went to pick them up at their grandmother's home after being awarded full custody, and nobody was there.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca
 
I’ve read this quote I’ve pasted below several times and IMO it raises several questions mainly what is the “consideration given” by Saskatoon police regarding the “historical reports of domestic violence”. IMO LE had no option but to treat the disappearance seriously especially due to the emphasis on missing and murdered aboriginal women but they may have had reservations regarding her mental stability from the very onset if these multiple reports were known to be baseless. Perhaps they somewhat suspected she had fled on her own accord all along, while noting her cellphone activity and videos of bank account withdrawals but meanwhile allowed her arrest to run full course in order to avoid undue criticism. JMO


BBM
“FSIN Vice Chief Heather Bear has said Walker previously experienced domestic violence. Saskatoon police confirmed they have historical reports of domestic violence allegations involving her.

“Consideration is being given to previous contact that Saskatoon police has had with Dawn,” Obst said, though he declined to specify or offer any updates….”
thestarphoenix.com

FSIN offers unspecified award if Dawn Walker is not found after 48 hours

"Check your home, check whatever properties you may have. Check your abandoned buildings for anything that's out of the ordinary."
thestarphoenix.com thestarphoenix.com
 
Last edited:
This is an interesting statement. It seems to suggest that First Nations women are voluntarily missing.

""At FSIN we know why First Nations women go missing and recognize that there are many complex issues that surround their disappearances. This is clearly the case with Dawn and her son Vinnie, and we will be closely following the legal process with more details on this case eventually being made public," said FSIN vice-chief Heather Bear."

 
Statement from FSIN. It is written adding the element of nobleness, as if they were fully aware she staged a false tragedy and fled to the US. IMO this organization loses credibility considering their prior insinuation that the disappearance was a result of foul play, seemingly just to further their cause regarding missing and murdered indigenous women. I wonder how families of legitimately missing and murdered indigenous woman feel about that?

“Our work does not stop here. We recognize our challenges will continue on into the coming days and weeks, and we will continue to support her through this future challenge,” said Theresa Walker.

Chief Richard Stonechild of Okanese First Nation said: “The leadership of Okanese First Nation has become aware of significant child welfare concerns regarding our young band member Vincent Jansen. We are responsible for all of our citizens, regardless of their residency, and care and custody status.”

And FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron added It is heart-breaking that Dawn may have felt she had no other choice but to take the drastic action that she did.

“Let us not forget that Dawn is a champion of First Nations women’s rights and causes. She spear-headed many MMIWG campaigns and gatherings. If there’s anything we have learned over the past two weeks is the urgency of these MMIWG issues and our role in protecting our most vulnerable members in need.”

FSIN Vice Chief Heather Bear: “It is a shame that our women feel helpless within the current justice system. Despite being a successful writer and having a law degree, what is clear is that Dawn was no exception to this. Every day, our women feel they are alone and do not know what to do in their desperate situations. We are the protectors of our children and it’s our duty to ensure their safety.”…”
 
otto said:
This is an interesting statement. It seems to suggest that First Nations women are voluntarily missing.

""At FSIN we know why First Nations women go missing and recognize that there are many complex issues that surround their disappearances. This is clearly the case with Dawn and her son Vinnie, and we will be closely following the legal process with more details on this case eventually being made public," said FSIN vice-chief Heather Bear."

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Maybe that statement has to do with this….”We are responsible for all of our citizens, regardless of their residency, and care and custody status.” (quote from above). That appears to suggest FSIN believes a non-aboriginal parent should have no rights at all.
 
otto said:
Parents abducting children and taking them to a foreign country is not that unusual. When we hear about children taken by a father to, for example, Iran, the mother is not viewed as having done something to justify the abduction. I think that a mother abducting children should be viewed in the same context - that the parent abducting the child is the one with the problem, not the parent that was deprived of the child.

I'm reminded of another recent abduction of two young girls by the mother's family. The father did not do anything wrong. In the end, it appeared that the mother was very angry with the father for having moved on with his life. Similarly, there were allegations of abuse that were investigated, and there was no substance to it. It was nothing more than a very acrimonious custody dispute.

globalnews.ca

Aunt, grandmother of previously missing Alberta girls charged with abduction | Globalnews.ca

The children were reported missing on March 12, when their father went to pick them up at their grandmother's home after being awarded full custody, and nobody was there.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca
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I think in most cases opinions change when there's been a history or previous allegations of abuse. But in most other cases they run to a country they lived in and already have family there which seems less desperate I guess as well.

Edit I did miss the last half but we haven't been told they were false yet just that the police chose not to charge with happens in a lot of cases. I think it's the sons statement that will matter, either he'll talk about a recent incident that scared his mother or talk about her new boyfriend and that's how they'll know.
 
MistyWaters said:
Statement from FSIN. It is written adding the element of nobleness, as if they were fully aware she staged a false tragedy and fled to the US. IMO this organization loses credibility considering their prior insinuation that the disappearance was a result of foul play, seemingly just to further their cause regarding missing and murdered indigenous women. I wonder how families of legitimately missing and murdered indigenous woman feel about that?

“Our work does not stop here. We recognize our challenges will continue on into the coming days and weeks, and we will continue to support her through this future challenge,” said Theresa Walker.

Chief Richard Stonechild of Okanese First Nation said: “The leadership of Okanese First Nation has become aware of significant child welfare concerns regarding our young band member Vincent Jansen. We are responsible for all of our citizens, regardless of their residency, and care and custody status.”

And FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron added It is heart-breaking that Dawn may have felt she had no other choice but to take the drastic action that she did.

“Let us not forget that Dawn is a champion of First Nations women’s rights and causes. She spear-headed many MMIWG campaigns and gatherings. If there’s anything we have learned over the past two weeks is the urgency of these MMIWG issues and our role in protecting our most vulnerable members in need.”

FSIN Vice Chief Heather Bear: “It is a shame that our women feel helpless within the current justice system. Despite being a successful writer and having a law degree, what is clear is that Dawn was no exception to this. Every day, our women feel they are alone and do not know what to do in their desperate situations. We are the protectors of our children and it’s our duty to ensure their safety.”…”
Click to expand...
The message that is coming through is that missing and murdered are two separate categories. Missing seems to refer to women who are voluntarily missing because the Canadian justice system is unfair. I had previously believed that missing meant murdered but not found.
 
MistyWaters said:
Maybe that statement has to do with this….”We are responsible for all of our citizens, regardless of their residency, and care and custody status.” (quote from above). That appears to suggest FSIN believes a non-aboriginal parent should have no rights at all.
Click to expand...
I too am getting the impression that this is heading in the direction of cultural rights of parents, and perhaps that Indigenous cultural rights should overrule Saskatchewan custody law.

My impression is that the child has been at the centre of a bitter custody battle for the last four years, and Dawn does not like the fact that law entitles the child to have access to both parents. The rights of the child interfere with Dawn's wish to leave Saskatoon with her child. The real conflict seems to be between Canadian law emphasizing the best interests of the child, and Dawn emphasizing her rights to take her child where ever she wants.
 
MOO

Dawn had help doing this. I believe her helper may have gone to LE when this really blew up.

It also appears that LE had a hunch, or evidence, that Dawn had fled to another country as they did get Border Services involved. LE was on it from all sides.

Her ex indicated she had tried to leave 3 times before so LE knew there was a history of this type of behaviour.

Such a foolish thing to do and now she’s going to pay for it for the rest of her life.

The sad part is that her son is going to pay as well. It appears that he’s not going to be returned immediately to his father from the wording in msm articles upthread.

Unfortunately, I’m not convinced this event was about what was best for Dawn’s son. I fear it was more about what Dawn desired.

Sad all the way around.

MOO
 
Tealgrove said:
MOO

Dawn had help doing this. I believe her helper may have gone to LE when this really blew up.

It also appears that LE had a hunch, or evidence, that Dawn had fled to another country as they did get Border Services involved. LE was on it from all sides.

Her ex indicated she had tried to leave 3 times before so LE knew there was a history of this type of behaviour.

Such a foolish thing to do and now she’s going to pay for it for the rest of her life.

The sad part is that her son is going to pay as well. It appears that he’s not going to be returned immediately to his father from the wording in msm articles upthread.

Unfortunately, I’m not convinced this event was about what was best for Dawn’s son. I fear it was more about what Dawn desired.

Sad all the way around.

MOO
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The father and his wife set up this website to find their missing son.

Find Vinnie

Our mission is to raise awareness for the missing little boy Vincent Jansen. He and his mother, Dawn Dumont Walker were reported missing July 24th 2022. We hope and pray that both will return home safely. Our goal is to focus on enhancing Vincent Jansen's public profile so that he may be more...
www.findvinnie.ca www.findvinnie.ca

There were many photos of the child from infancy to today showing a normal happy child interacting with parents, his younger sister and extended family.

Even though Dawn was planning to go to Edmonton the following day - so she could have made arrangements for someone to take the dog before she staged the fishing trip - she abandoned/neglected her dog completely. The dog was alone for less than 24 hours, but it made quite a mess.

"“With her communication skills, her personality, and her attitude, it was a daily thing to hear from her or to give her a call, so everyone knew something was wrong when we didn’t hear from her,” Cameron said. “When her dog was in her house barking, there was dog poop and urine in her house, something was wrong. Her son’s iPad was still in the room, her suitcase and everything is still in the room."

 
It is sad.
I’m kind of surprised at the fundraising for her legal defense already when charges have not even been paid - as far as we know.
I will wait to hear more but I am judging her a bit myself. I was married and my ex-husband was abusive. He was quite dysfunctional even to take care of our child and really was not going to be a functional parent to our child. I wanted to leave the city we were living in and asked to do so but I waited for the proper legal channels to do so and it was in the process of being decided by a judge. He ended up attempting to kill me in the meantime (broke into where I was living in the middle of the night) with our child there. By a miracle I survived. At that point I was granted full custody and could leave.
If it turns out that she made false accusations against her child’s father I will have no empathy for her at all. You cannot do things like that. Life is hard and we make bad choices sometimes but we have to face the reality of those choices. You can’t always get what you want. You can’t always move to where you want and do what you want when you have a child to also think about.
Edited to add: And if the judge ordered me to not be able to relocate I wouldn’t have and would have done my best in that situation.
 
Marysmith said:
It is sad.
I’m kind of surprised at the fundraising for her legal defense already when charges have not even been paid - as far as we know.
I will wait to hear more but I am judging her a bit myself. I was married and my ex-husband was abusive. He was quite dysfunctional even to take care of our child and really was not going to be a functional parent to our child. I wanted to leave the city we were living in and asked to do so but I waited for the proper legal channels to do so and it was in the process of being decided by a judge. He ended up attempting to kill me in the meantime (broke into where I was living in the middle of the night) with our child there. By a miracle I survived. At that point I was granted full custody and could leave.
If it turns out that she made false accusations against her child’s father I will have no empathy for her at all. You cannot do things like that. Life is hard and we make bad choices sometimes but we have to face the reality of those choices. You can’t always get what you want. You can’t always move to where you want and do what you want when you have a child to also think about.
Edited to add: And if the judge ordered me to not be able to relocate I wouldn’t have and would have done my best in that situation.
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There are so many children of divorce in Canada, and most of the time the parents accept that their lives are somewhat on hold until the child(ren) are old enough to have a say in where they live (around age 14) or until the children are adults. Many are frustrated by the fact that they cannot take the child(ren) to another city without permission from the other parent, but that's life.

The best interests of the child is not some colonial way of thinking. Colonial ways were that the father takes control of the children. There may be some historic Indigenous belief that children always go to the mother, but this is 2022. Dawn, who holds a law degree, should have been aware of Saskatchewan custody law (1997) before the child was born. Now is not the time to complain about it.
 
A news article about this case said that DW had last been seen at a business in the 300 block of Owen Manor (as opposed to last being seen in the parking lot or by her ex, when the child was dropped off). The only building there houses 2 businesses, Wilson landscape/garden supply/home goods/cafe (closed at 8 pm), and the Stoked Centre, an indoor family entertainment center. It appears to close at 10 pm, with bowling until 12 am. I think it's possible that after the father dropped off the son to DW (exact location unknown?) at 6 pm, she may have taken the boy to the center. If LE already knew when she left that business, they knew she could not be at the river at the same time. I can think of several motives to take the boy there (get him exhausted, an activity until it was dark). Or did DW get something to eat and/or something they needed for the trip? Maybe the river staging was done at dusk (sunset 9:14 pm), or even later, as she couldn't risk a search (phone ping, contacting the father) starting on the same evening she was disappearing if her blanket and purse were found in the daylight. I think she would have wanted a few hours of a head start, in case the husband convinced them that she possibly fled with the child and they started watching the highways.
If DW managed to leave a vehicle, near where her truck was found, earlier in the day, she could have even done the staging all by herself. I think that LE already knows the other vehicle involved and most likely the accomplice.

Since there has been recent news coverage of river rescues and drownings in that area, perhaps DW got the (naive) idea that it would immediately be thought DW and her son had drowned and further investigation was not necessary. After a futile search for their bodies, it would be presumed they were dead. It's not uncommon for bodies not to be found for a long time, and sometimes drowning victims are never recovered. Maybe she thought, again naively, that she'd just change her appearance, lay low for a while, then start a new life since no one would be actively looking for them. She may have thought she could eventually contact her family.

On July 3, 2022, a missing 7-year-old's belongings were found on the riverbank and it was correctly assumed that he had gone into the river. This was right in town, I would think DW had heard about this.

https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/7-year-old boy-dead-in-saskatoon-following-river-incident-
"A seven-year-old boy is dead after an incident on the river over the weekend. On Saturday around 8:30 p.m., police were called to the east bank of the South Saskatchewan River near Victoria Avenue after a boy was reported missing. Officers searched the riverbank and surrounding area and found the boy's discarded belongings, according to a statement from Saskatoon Police Service (SPS)".

 
Tealgrove said:
I’m glad to hear that. Some previous articles made it sound that he would be going to a guardian. Good News!
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I read the same. My own speculation is that, out of an abundance of caution, the boy is in care of his paternal grandparents / relatives / etc such that LE can assess any claims of DV against his father in addition to whatever caused his mother to leave Canada with him.

This leaves the child (presumably) in the care of relatives he knows / feels safe and comfortable with, while allowing LE to untangle any kind of custody dispute.

Quite likely he is released to the custody of his father soon, but this is a cautious intermediate step IMO
 
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