CANADA Canada - Delphine Nikal, 15, Smithers, BC, 13 June, 1990

[TheArtfulDetective]

Delphine Anne Cameilia Nikal



Missing since June 13, 1990 from Smithers, British Columbia, Canada.
Classification: Endangered Missing / Suspected Homicide

Vital Statistics

• • Date Of Birth: February 16, 1975
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 15 years old
  • Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 5'3"; 134 lbs.
  • Distinguishing Characteristics:
    • Curly, shoulder-length hair that was either light brown or black.
    • Brown or hazel eyes.
    • Healthy teeth.
    • Light complexion.
    • Medium build
    • Native female
  • Marks, Scars: She has a scar on the right temple, a purple birth mark on her back and a fractured right index finger.
  • Clothing and Belongings
    • Blue, bleached, denim Levis jacket with white pockets sewn on the inside.
    • White, cotton Ginny sweater.
    • Hot pink, denim pants that were knee-length and skin-tight.
    • White LA Gear running shoes.
    • A black, leather "pouch style" purse that has also been described as a "western-style shoulder handbag with fringes."
      • Inside her purse was hair spray, a hairbrush, pictures, makeup, and an address book.
  • Dentals: Available

Circumstances of Disappearance
Delphine was living in Telkwa and was in her uncle's custody on June 13, 1990. Around 2:00 P.M., she informed him that she was off to meet up with three female friends in Smithers, roughly 16 kilometers away. She successfully hitchhiked to Smithers and met up with her friends. Around 10:00 P.M., Delphine called her uncle to inform him she was returning to Smithers. The last people to see Delphine were two of her friends, who saw her hitchhiking in the eastbound lane of Highway 16.

Delphine is one of eighteen teenagers and young women confirmed to have disappeared or been murdered while hitchhiking along this stretch of highway since the 1970s. Due to the similarities in these cases, investigators strongly suspect that Delphine's disappearance may be linked to a serial killer operating within the region at the time. Currently, the most likely suspect in her disappearance is American serial killer Bobby Jack Fowler. Fowler, who was active until 1995, frequently targeted female hitchhikers; his DNA was found on one of the murdered girls from BC in 2012, and he is the prime suspect in two other similar cases from the area.

Her cousin, Cecilia Nikal, went missing from British Columbia the year before. Their cases may be connected.

Investigators
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:

Royal Canadian Mounted Police
250-847-3233

NCIC Number: M-619810468
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.

The Doe Network: Case File 707DFBC
Delphine Nikal

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF DELPHINE NIKAL



Delphine Nikal is a member of the Wet’suwet’en tribe and was the youngest of her family and born on a farm near Smithers, British Columbia. She was born in the same hospital as Ramona Wilson and was known as an adventurous child who loved animals. When Delphine was only 11-years-old, her father died and Delphine moved to the neighboring village of Telkwa to live with her mother.

In 1990, Delphine was 15-years-old and her mother Judy fell ill after a surgery had gone wrong and ended up spending four months in a coma in a Prince George hospital. The hospital was a four-hour drive from their village so at this time Delphine went to live with her uncle Frank Tompkins who lived across the street from them.

On Wednesday, June 13 at approximately 2:00 p.m. Delphine told her uncle that she was going into town to meet up with some friends. Delphine met up with her close friend Kristal Grenkie and two other girls. The girls wandered around town during the afternoon and as evening approached, the group headed to Mohawk gas station which was located on the corner of Main Street and Highway 16. Delphi’s friends remembered her asking them if they wanted to spend the night at her house as her mother was not home. The girls thought it was unusual because she had never asked any of them before to spend the night. The girls were unable to go though because of school and work the next day. After the group parted ways, Delphine called her uncle to tell him she was headed home.

Delphine Nikal was last seen hitchhiking in the eastbound lane of Highway 16, but never made it home. In the following days when Delphine’s family reported her missing they were met with suggestions that she had probably run off and would return soon. Delphine was known to police, as she had been charged with previous minor offenses such as theft and mischief and had been in and out of youth facilities in the province. With no help from the police, the family was left to search for Delphine on their own, knocking on doors and driving throughout Vancouver looking for her.

There was no, literally no support. The cops never really showed a whole lot of interest…They obviously didn’t really care.

Mary Nikal, sister of Delphine (Highway of Tears)
When police finally got involved they ruled out foul play, citing the fact that many young people go missing each year and eventually turn up on the streets of Vancouver. This was hard for Delphine’s family to make sense of as Delphine’s mother was very sick and she would never have left her. All her belongings were still at home and her friends knew she would have confided in them about her plan and would not have invited them over that night if she was planning on running away.

With additional help from Canpro Investigation Services and The Missing Children Society of Canada offering a $10,000 reward, information started to come in about Delphine. An employee at Mohawk gas station claimed to have seen Delphine getting into a red sports car on the night of her disappearance. Her uncle was also looked into, but there was evidence to suggest that Delphine never made it home that night and he eventually passed away. It was also thought that Delphine may have ended up at a party that night in a rural area near Smithers but all of these leads led to dead ends after further investigation.

In March of 2019, a witness came forward with information regarding Delphine which confirmed suspicions that Delphine was most likely picked up by someone who was on their way out of town.

Since Delphine’s disappearance, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Task Force called E-PANA was created to investigate the series of unsolved murders along this highway, including Delphine’s. The purpose of the task force was “to determine if a serial killer, or killers, is responsible for murdering young women traveling along major highways in BC” (E-PANA website). To date, however, this case still remains unsolved, as do all the cases along the highway included in E-PANA.

The Disappearance of Delphine Nikal

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Websleuths Western Canada's Highway of Tears discussion: Delphine Nikal, 16, Missing since June 1990