With so many women missing, never to be seen again, are we dealing with a human trafficking issue?
Please discuss this theory and information here.
During the Pickton investigation, it seems there were rumours among the DTES stws of women being taken on boats. So, IMO, HT is certainly something to be considered.
One theory I've mulled around is that the bodies that are located are the victims who fought and lost their lives, but that some of those still classified as "missing", are alive and have been transported elsewhere, thus no bodies being found.
My database is far from complete ... 450 names/details covering the missing/murdered in Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC (including Highway of Tears of course), NWT and Alaska. I have
at least 100 more names to add and in many of those cases, nothing more than the name, not even a province
My cursory, very unscientific look at all western Canada victims, sorted by "Body Located" vs "Body not Located", there are 238 located, 183 not located. Certainly not all age groups would be considered as potential victims in HT operations, but 183 bodies not located, in and of itself, is highly curious.
Of 34 victims of Highway of Tears (18 on the "official" list, and 16 on my "non-official" list), only 18 bodies have been recovered (those 18 being comprised of victims on both official and non-official). Could be due to it being more of a remote area, and possibly just a matter of time before others are recovered.
Apparently there are at least two HT rings being investigated in Canada. That alone tells us there are certainly victims of HT ... we just don't know who they are. Jessie Louise Foster is considered to be one, but as for other names, if they are known to LE, they are not shared with us.
The original original article from the Edmonton Sun that reported on the Edmonton HT investigations seems to have vanished, but googling +"kevin galvin" +"human trafficking", here's a link that contains the relevant info:
http://fightforjustice.blogspot.com/2009/02/canada-not-immune-to-illicit-trade.html
There is a separate "Human Trafficking Awareness Thread" here at WS; sadly it is not very active:
[ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91597"]Human Trafficking Awareness Thread - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community[/ame]