CANADA Canada - Belinda Williams, 24, Vancouver/Mission, BC, 1 July 1976/1977

[TheArtfulDetective]

Belinda Williams



Belinda Gurtrude Williams (born 1952) was a woman who disappeared in 1976 or 1977 but wasn't reported missing until 2004.

Age 24
Race First Nations
Sex Female
Location Vancouver/Mission,
British Columbia
Disappeared July 1, 1976 or 1977
Missing for 44 - 45 years
Height 5'2
Weight 117 pounds
Classification Not stated

Characteristics

• Brown hair.
• Black eyes.
• Has a scar on her right arm and a scar below one of her eyes.
• Has a tattoo of the letter "B" on her right hand.
• Right pinkie finger is crooked.

Case
Williams' father and sister claim to have last seen her in Vancouver, yet the Stl'Atl'imx Tribal Police have determined she was last seen in Mission.

Loralei Williams, Belinda's niece, started a dance group in 2011 called Butterflies in Spirit to raise awareness about Canada's missing and murdered Indigenous women. Loralei is also the cousin of Tanya Holyk, who disappeared from Vancouver in 1996. Tanya's DNA was linked to serial killer Robert Pickton's residence.

Belinda Williams

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Belinda Williams disappeared three years before her niece, Lorelei Williams, was born but the resemblance between the two is striking. Family saw the young woman for the last time in British Columbia in 1977, and they are still wondering what happened to their loved one.

Because Belinda Williams vanished three years before her niece, Lorelei Williams, was born, the closest Lorelei has gotten to knowing her takes place when she looks in the mirror: For her entire life family has said she looks just like Belinda did.

In 2015, Lorelei is more familiar with the impact her aunt’s absence had on the family than her presence.

“I [have] seen what it did to them growing up as a kid,” she said.

“Every time I talked about my aunties their voices would shake.”

Belinda was not the last in the family to disappear. In 2002, Lorelei’s cousin, Tanya Holyk, was named one of Robert Pickton’s victims after her DNA was found on his farm.

Lorelei knows little about Belinda, but she spends time raising awareness about her aunt, asking the public to come forward with information that might help locate her, or at least tell the family what happened.

When she searches for Belinda’s name online, nothing comes up on B.C.’s website dedicated to missing persons, which dates back only to 2002, and she can’t find information about her aunt on police websites.

Lorelei started Butterflies in Spirit in 2011. The group’s focus is to raise awareness about Canada’s missing and murdered indigenous girls and women, and supports a federal inquiry into the issue.

https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/mmiw/profiles/belinda-williams

 

[notafighter]

It is so sad that her cousin was a victim of Pickton. He was such a nefarious presence that plagued Native communities even today. Belinda's doenetwork page says there is no available DNA but do we know if her niece submitted any for comparison? About 10 months after Belinda's disappearance the remains of a young female were found in Maple Ridge, which is right between Vancouver and Mission. Age range is 13 - 16, but she matches the height and hair color. Jane Doe was estimated to have died 8 - 12 months prior, which fits the time Belinda was last seen. I have no idea if they've been compared before, but it seems a little obvious to try given the locations IMO

 

[Pennysmom1]

Belinda Williams, Missing from British Columbia since 1976 or 1977.

A blog about the many missing, murdered, and unidentified Native/Indigenous/Aboriginal women of the United States and Canada. Say Their Names!

www.justicefornativepeople.com

DOB: Unknown. Circa 1952.
Description: Belinda was 5'1 and 117 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She has black hair and brown eyes. She has a tattoo of the letter "B" on the webbing of her right hand. She has a crooked right pinkie finger, a scar beneath one of her eyes and one on her right arm.

Tribal Information: Belinda is described as "aboriginal" and has ties to the Stl'Atl'lmx community.

 

[kitseb]

It is so sad that her cousin was a victim of Pickton. He was such a nefarious presence that plagued Native communities even today. Belinda's doenetwork page says there is no available DNA but do we know if her niece submitted any for comparison? About 10 months after Belinda's disappearance the remains of a young female were found in Maple Ridge, which is right between Vancouver and Mission. Age range is 13 - 16, but she matches the height and hair color. Jane Doe was estimated to have died 8 - 12 months prior, which fits the time Belinda was last seen. I have no idea if they've been compared before, but it seems a little obvious to try given the locations IMO

Hi, local to this case and doing deep dive research for my own database atm. This could be a good lead but there's discrepancy on her last seen date. The confusion seems to come from the fact that there are two policing bodies who were involved in her case. The RCMP states that she was last seen on July 1st, 1976, in Vancouver proper by her father and sister. This, according to local newspapers at the time, was also the date her youngest son was born. The Tribal Police in Mt. Curie who she was reported missing to in 2004 (after apparently various attempts by family to report her missing prior) say she was last seen in Mission (kind of a farmland city outside of Vancouver) in 1977 by witnesses. So if the latter date is correct then this could absolutely be her, but if the former date is then it wouldn't be possible.

While I can't 100% verify that this is the same Belinda Williams there are two of these notices in two different newspapers at two different times and the name Belinda Williams doesn't show up again in BC until her niece becomes an advocate. So I'm at least keen to believe this is the same person.