Danielle Larue, 2002 Vancouver

[dotr]

http://www.missingpeople.net/danielle_larue_never_had_chance.htm

"She was physically and sexually abused. She was abused in every way a child could be," says her sister Kim.

By the time Danielle reached her teens, only heroin eased the pain and selling sex on the street was the only way to pay for it.

On May 12, 2003, Vancouver police issued an alert that the 25-year-old had been missing from the Downtown Eastside since the previous December. Not a single newspaper in Metro Vancouver reported it.

It wasn't until a year ago that Global TV's John Daly revealed that police had received an unsigned note, presumably from Danielle's killer, in early December 2002. When nothing was reported in the newspaper, the killer sent a second chilling note to police.

"This is about Vancouver prostitute who disappear at the end of November 2002. Don't remember name she gave me, had no ID. Sounded like she had just recently come to Vancouver. Caucasian, long black, curly hair, jeans, black leather jacket, tattoos and jewelry. She is dead . . . .

"I send this info so you can notify her family. If you can, please make mention of her name in Vancouver Sun. I would like to know who she was . . . .

"To her family. I am sorry more than you can imagine. I did not intend this but am still responsible. She will not be unmourned. Have brought flowers to her grave once already, plan to do so every years as am able. Not ideal, but better than no visits at all. I know you can't forgive me but please believe I tried my very hardest to bring her back."

The police file remains open. Danielle's body has never been found and nor has her killer".

 

[dotr]

http://www.vpdcoldcases.ca/danielle-larue/

"Danielle LARUE

It was New Year’s Eve 2002 when an anonymous letter was opened by staff working at the Vancouver Police Department’s Public Service Counter. The letter referred to a Vancouver sex trade worker who had disappeared at the end of November, one month previous.

The writer described the woman, admitted to killing her, and even apologized to her family for taking her life. He said he was surprised there had been nothing in the news about her disappearance and asked for the victim’s name to be mentioned in the Vancouver Sun, so he would know who she was.

Investigators believe the letter writer was referring to Danielle Marissa Larue, and while her body has never been found, they believe she has been murdered.

Her 24 years had not been easy, with physical and sexual abuse beginning in her childhood. She entered foster care at an early age and ran away to the streets in Prince George when she turned 13, turning to drugs to ease her pain. She was always fiercely protective of her younger brother and sister, but Danielle became addicted to drugs and ended up working in the sex trade to support her habit. She had been living in the Downtown Eastside for longer than five years.

It’s been more than a decade since Danielle went missing and police received the letter. The person who wrote the letter knows what happened to Danielle and where her body is buried, and seemed to be remorseful. Perhaps a tortured conscience will finally bring answers, justice and closure for Danielle’s family."

 

[DayLea]

The letter is quite fascinating. I wish we could see the whole thing. I get the impression that it was an accident of some kind...perhaps an overdose or a sex game gone wrong? I also find it very interesting that the author of the letter states he/she was planning on bringing flowers to her grave every year...I'd say, random flowers showing up somewhere equally random in November, would (unfortunately) be the strongest lead here. Perhaps a question worth asking the public?

Such a sad end to a sad life. This poor girl never had a chance. The interview with her sister is SO sad.

 

[dotr]

Maybe the letter writer might see recent news about Vancouver cold cases, or even this thread, and let someone know where Danielle can be found.
If he/she does that, Danielle can be returned to her family and they will bring flowers to her grave every year....imo.

 

[craftybatchy]

The syntax is very odd. Inconsistent use of pronouns. Lots of depersonalization of the author yet an oddly intimate, sensitive description of the victim.

Interesting that the perp would write a letter to the police and question why nothing had been said in the media. A missing <modsnip: inappropriate reference> isn't typically considered newsworthy.

 

[Kell1]

Letter writers in my experience are 1 of 2 things 1) attention seeker, or 2) fraud

 

[dotr]

Updated June 11 2014..

http://www.vpdcoldcases.ca/danielle-larue/

"Danielle LARUE

It was New Year&#8217;s Eve 2002 when an anonymous letter was opened by staff working at the Vancouver Police Department&#8217;s Public Service Counter. The letter referred to a Vancouver sex trade worker who had disappeared at the end of November, one month previous.

The writer described the woman, admitted to killing her, and even apologized to her family for taking her life. He said he was surprised there had been nothing in the news about her disappearance and asked for the victim&#8217;s name to be mentioned in the Vancouver Sun, so he would know who she was.

Investigators believe the letter writer was referring to Danielle Marissa Larue, and while her body has never been found, they believe she has been murdered.

Her 24 years had not been easy, with physical and sexual abuse beginning in her childhood. She entered foster care at an early age and ran away to the streets in Prince George when she turned 13, turning to drugs to ease her pain. She was always fiercely protective of her younger brother and sister, but Danielle became addicted to drugs and ended up working in the sex trade to support her habit. She had been living in the Downtown Eastside for longer than five years.

It&#8217;s been more than a decade since Danielle went missing and police received the letter. The person who wrote the letter knows what happened to Danielle and where her body is buried, and seemed to be remorseful. Perhaps a tortured conscience will finally bring answers, justice and closure for Danielle&#8217;s family.

This is an ongoing file. Please check back regularly for updates."

 

[dotr]

In September, this case was updated again.
It seems that LE is taking the letter that they received, as a valid tip. imo.

http://www.vpdcoldcases.ca/danielle-larue/

"It was New Year&#8217;s Eve 2002 when an anonymous letter was opened by staff working at the Vancouver Police Department&#8217;s Public Service Counter. The letter referred to a Vancouver sex trade worker who had disappeared at the end of November, one month previous.

The writer described the woman, admitted to killing her, and even apologized to her family for taking her life. He said he was surprised there had been nothing in the news about her disappearance and asked for the victim&#8217;s name to be mentioned in the Vancouver Sun, so he would know who she was."

Investigators believe the letter writer was referring to Danielle Marissa Larue, and while her body has never been found, they believe she has been murdered.

<<<snip>>>
rbbm.

"The person who wrote the letter knows what happened to Danielle and where her body is buried, and seemed to be remorseful."

 

[dotr]

Bumping for Danielle .
If the letter writer is in fact legitimate and sincere , hope they prove it and tell the family where Danielle can be located. imo.

 

[newone]

bumping for Danielle...............

 

[Honey_West]

Bumping for Danielle!

 

[dotr]

From 2014, includes video and audio option.

http://globalnews.ca/news/1535797/bc-crimestoppers-the-case-of-murder-victim-danielle-larue/

"The letter said, To her family I am more sorry for this than you can imagine. I did not intend this but am still responsible. Wish I could take it back but I can&#8217;t.

The letter also said flowers were put on her grave but for Larue&#8217;s sister this doesn&#8217;t bring closure, it means more questions.

&#8220;Not having any answers, that&#8217;s the worst because I have nightmares. Did she go through a lot of pain? Was it very scary for her?&#8221;

If you can help solve this case please call police or if you wish to remain anonymous, visit bccrimestopper.com."

 

[dotr]

http://www.missingpeople.net/another_woman_missing.htm

 

[My3LilKittens]

The story of Danielle LaRue is tragic. Unfortunately, 16 years later there are still no answers.

Danielle falls into the sex and drugs category. She was 25 and her only comfort was heroine. So she dies. We have no idea how, or why, or where. What do we know?

We know that the killer wrote 2 letters to the police. The first letter is not published and at the time was given no attention. However, when a second letter arrived ..... the police paid attention. They only disclose certain points in the letter, but it gets to the point.

Many read this letter and take away that the crime wasn't intentional and the killer has regrets. However, he wants to know WHO she is. He wants to put a FACE to what he has done. He states he visits her "grave," but doesn't bother to give anyone closure by revealing the location of her body.

Considering what she was involved in, she was a very easy target. The killer wanted to play some sort of "game" on a prostitute that no one would come searching for. She wanted heroine and would have done anything to get it, so she didn't shy away when he asked her for something "unusual." She didn't know him. However, he sure thinks they shared a moment, which is why he writes 2 letters in an attempt to get the information he needs.

Once he finds out who she is, he can find out all the information he wants on his own. No need to write any more letters. He isn't taunting the police. No doubt he still visits her "grave." He even takes the time to keep the weeds and leaves away as best he can. He even talks to her sometimes.

Someone ALWAYS knows ...

 

[CherryKitty]

I wish that the author of the letter had at least indicated where the body was if it is legitimate.

I'm not sure about Danielle's backstory. I reviewed her court appearances via Court Services Online, it looks like she had some ties to 100 Mile House and Prince George. I wonder if those areas were ever investigated? I'm hoping so as I think she at one point lived in Prince George with her sister Kim, too - when she was older. They spent time as kids in Kamloops, and then Danielle was bounced around foster homes. Such a sad, sad upbringing. The optimist in me hopes that Danielle ran off and started a new life for herself.

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Danielle LaRue



Age 24-25
Race White/First Nations
Sex Female
Location Vancouver, BC
Disappeared Late 2002
Missing for 18 years
Height 5'7
Weight 128 pounds
Classification Suspected homicide

Description
Danielle was described to have brown eyes; a thin build; a ruddy, light complexion; and long, brown hair. She has a scar on her right arm and scars resembling slash marks on her right forearm. Danielle has several tattoos: a heart and sword on her right forearm, a cross on her right arm, a heart on the back of her torso, and black hearts on her chest. She used the surnames Dick, Felix, Nickn, and Nooksi. She sometimes spelled her last name as La Rue. Danielle used the given names Bambi, Bou, Buchi, Butchie, Cory, Danielle Marie, Kimberly Ann, Louie, Marissa Lynn, and Rosie. She sometimes spelled Marissa as Merissa and Ann as Anne.

Case
On News Year Eve, 2002, the Vancouver Police Department received an anonymous letter from someone who confessed to unintentionally killing a sex worker. In the letter, he also apologized to the woman's family for killing her and claimed he was going to leave flowers at the place he buried her at least once a year.

Due to the description the writer gave of the woman, investigators believe the murdered woman was Danielle Larue, a drug user who worked in the sex trade to support her addiction in Vancouver's downtown east side (DTES) and had been living in the downtown east side (DTES) for over five years. She had literally run away from her problems in Northern British Columbia. Her family had not had a lot of contact with Danielle prior to her disappearance. She was the quintessential run away, giving little to no details of her life. Her closest family members knew little of her life on the DTES. Her official disappearance date being November 30, 2002, but the exact place and time she was last seen is unknown.

Danielle Larue

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

'You know what happened to Danielle': Vancouver Police appeal to killer in 16-year-old cold case

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – No body and no crime scene. All investigators have to try to solve an almost decades old Vancouver cold case is a letter from the apparent killer.

Now, 16 years after the disappearance and presumed murder of 24-year-old Danielle LaRue, Vancouver Police are asking the anonymous author of that letter to come forward once again, this time to reveal their identity.

“You know what happened to Danielle, where her body is buried and you seem to be remorseful,” said Sergeant Jason Robillard to NEWS 1130.

“It’s time to do the right thing and finally bring answers and closure for Danielle’s family. It’s been 16 years and it’s time to clear your conscience and come forward.”

Danielle went missing from the Downtown Eastside, where she lived, at the end of November 2002. A month later, the chilling letter landed on the desks of Vancouver police officers.

“This is about Vancouver prostitute who disappear at the end of November 2002 […] Caucasian, long black curly hair, jeans, black leather jacket, tattoos and jewelry. She is dead,” said part of the typed up letter.

“To her family, I am more sorry for this than you can imagine. I did not intend this but am still responsible. Wish I could take it back but can’t. She will not be unmourned. Have brought flowers to her grave once already, plan to do so every year as am able. Not ideal, but better than no visits at all. I know you can’t forgive me but please believe I tried my very hardest to bring her back.”

Police have never publicly released the full letter and while the author never mentions his victim by name, investigators are convinced the person who wrote it is referring to Danielle.

Some in her family, however, are skeptical. Her older half-brother chooses instead to remain hopeful that his sister is still alive.

“If it hasn’t been signed and if it hasn’t been verified, well, to me it’s just hearsay and I don’t really wanna have much to think about the letter in the first place,” said Jules LaRue to NEWS 1130.

“I don’t know, maybe that might make me less hopeful about my sister, if I did see it.”

Danielle had a difficult childhood that included foster care, physical and sexual abuse, which led to drug use and eventually sex work. Her ancestors were part of the Shuswap First Nation and while she grew up in Northern B.C. she had been living in Vancouver for 5 years at the time she disappeared.

Like so many other women before and after Danielle to go missing from the notorious Downtown Eastside, her case wasn’t widely reported on until a year after she was last seen.

“From all the things that I’ve heard there’s two things that I believe: either she was taken away somewhere for human trafficking or she just ran away to start a better life for herself, a new life,” said Jules, who’s one of Danielle’s several siblings.

He remembers his sister as adventurous but reserved, quite, and polite around family, who still think about the missing woman almost every day.

Jules has been involved with the inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, helping other families who’ve lost a sibling, mother, daughter, or grandmother, which brings some solace.

“Whenever I speak with my other siblings as well as my mom about Danielle we just, we miss her and we want her to be seen again if she’s still alive,” said Jules.

“Or we just wanna know what’s happened with her and where her remains are if she really is no longer physically with us.”

New hope the family will get some answers comes as a fresh set of eyes takes over the case. Her file was recently handed over to a new investigator. Robillard says new investigative tools are constantly being explored but with no physical evidence, other than the letter, it makes solving the case both challenging and unique.

“We definitely have theories about who wrote the letter. We have looked at the letter itself, we’ve looked at a lot of pieces surrounding the letter,” he said.

“In December of 2002 when the person wrote the letter and felt the need to send it in to the Vancouver Police, their conscience was obviously bothering them at that time, just from reading the letter and reading things that were written.”

Robillard says their best bet in solving the case is having someone with information come forward. Ideally the author of the letter, but police believe there may be others out there who know something.

For Jules, the best outcome would be his sister walking back into his life.

“It would be quite a shock, it’d be a pleasant shock needless to say, to have her all of a sudden pop her head back into everybody’s life and say ‘hey what the hell are you guys worried about, I’m a grown woman, I’m a LaRue, I’m strong, I’m tough, I know how to take care of myself, I just wanted to go take off and do something different for a while.’”

'You know what happened to Danielle': Vancouver Police appeal to killer in 16-year-old cold case - NEWS 1130

 

[Danaya]

I saw a reddit thread where posters were saying that she likely had an overdose. There is absolutely no indication of that. This guy probably murdered her.

Sex workers are more likely to be murdered than in any other industry, including law enforcement.

The killer is probably reliving his crime when he goes to visit her grave. He's likely just trying to come across as a "good guy" by bragging about bringing flowers. Please. If he truly cared he would tell police where he buried her but he won't, probably because he's afraid of DNA evidence.

He likely described her tattoos and who knows, maybe he went into details about how he "accidentally" strangled her to death or some other depravity.

 

[tarabull]

https://rcmp.ca/en/campaigns-and-promotions/rcmp-seeks-your-help-solving-cases-missing-indigenous-women-girls-and