CANADA Canada - Lorilee Mae Francis, 23, Grande Prairie, AB, 20 Oct 2007

TheArtfulDetective · Oct 12, 2021

Lorilee Mae Francis

Missing since - October 20, 2007
Year of birth - 1983
Age at disappearance - 23
Gender Female
Bio group - Indigenous
Eye colour - Brown
Hair - Brown, Long
Height - 155cm / 5 ft 1 in
Weight - 50kg / 110lb
Build - Slender/Thin
Aliases - FRANCIS, Lori-lee Mae, FRANCIS, Kelly

Additional Information:
Lorilee Mae Francis was reported missing on Dec. 27, 2007 by her family after she did not contact them during the Christmas holidays. She has not been heard from by family or friends since approximately October of 2007. She was last known to be in Grande Prairie, Alberta. Police said Francis is believed to lead a high-risk lifestyle.

Contact Information:
If you have information on this case, please contact any of the following:

Grande Prairie RCMP: 780-830-5700
Reference Case#: 20071540144
Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS(8477) or online at Canadian Crime Stoppers Association
Crime Stoppers provides anonymous tipping
Send email to the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains at:
[email protected]

Canada's Missing | Case details
2007 FRANCIS, Lorilee Mae-10/20/2007
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TheArtfulDetective · Oct 12, 2021

Police searching for missing Grande Prairie woman

Mar 14, 2008

A Grande Prairie woman, described by police as living a "high-risk lifestyle," is missing and authorities have notified Project Kare, a joint Edmonton Police-RCMP task force investigating the killings and disappearances of dozens of women.

Lorilee Mae Francis, 24, was reported missing by her family in December, police said. She was last seen in October.

"She usually contacts her family at December, during Christmas time. That didn't happen this past year so we are concerned about her whereabouts, as is her family," said Cpl. Riz Suleman of the Grande Prairie RCMP.

Suleman said Francis is believed to have been involved in prostitution.

"Nothing is confirmed for sure. She may have been involved in that kind of activity, but we are not certain about that," he said.

Project Kare is aware of the situation and is working with investigators in Grande Prairie, he said.

Suleman said Francis has no family in area, and may simply have left northwest Alberta and moved elsewhere.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/police-searching-for-missing-grande-prairie-woman-1.707616

TheArtfulDetective · Oct 12, 2021

Tip leads family of Lorilee Mae Francis to Montreal for search

Jun 19, 2020

A tip has is leading the family of Lorilee Mae Francis to Montreal to search for the woman who hasn’t been seen since October of 2007.

Her family’s search was chronicled as part of the APTN series Taken.

According to the show, Francis was last known to be in Grande Prairie, Alta.

“She’s very happy – she’s a happy person, y’know?” explained Lance Francis, Lorilee’s brother. “She’s very kind. A kind person. A very loveable kind person. Approachable.”

Her family contacted police and filed a missing person’s report when they didn’t hear from her that Christmas.

In the 13 years since Lorilee disappeared, the family says they haven’t received any credible tips as to her whereabouts.

Until two weeks ago.

A stranger reached out to the family through a Facebook page dedicated to Lorilee’s case.

In it, he explained that he encountered a woman from Alberta in Montreal in 2015 whose last name was Francis. They met up several times in different locations across the city.

However, it wasn’t until three years later, while watching the episode of Taken, that the man realized he’d likely crossed paths with Lorilee.

Lance, his brother Lane, and cousins Ryver and Eugene gathered their bearings and headed to Montreal to search on the ground.

Soon after arriving, they received more leads.

“As soon as we got here Sunday night, we got another tip saying they recognized her from the missing poster – they recognized her and she was just here.”

The family swept the Atwater area, near Cabot Square – a known hub for the urban Indigenous population – and areas otherwise frequented by the homeless.

An elderly woman there told the search party she had recently seen the person believed to be Lorilee.

Despite the positive developments, Lane says getting local police to help out is a challenge.

“There is no help – I asked officers on the street here and they weren’t even willing to take her picture. They just walked by,” he explained. “How are we going to find our sister with that help?”

“They’re not helping us,” Ryver added. She says she called the RCMP in Grande Prairie as soon as they got word Lorilee may be in Montreal.

Despite several possible sightings over the years, officers out west did not have any news on their case, according to the family.

“We were talking to them before we came here, and every day we’ve been phoning and there’s no help,” Ryver said.

Five days into the family’s trip to Montreal – just hours before driving back to Alberta – an investigator with the RCMP detachment in Montreal agreed to a phone meeting.

Lance says the investigator could only promise they would do their best to keep an eye out.

He believes “human error” is likely to blame for lack of follow-through.

“There was a miscommunication between those two – Grand Prairie and Montreal,” Lance said. “They didn’t know about the tip until my auntie phoned them.”

According to RCMP protocol, if a missing person is seen in another province, “the agency of origin” – here, the RCMP – will ask for help from police officers where the person was reportedly seen in order to follow up on the tip.

“Law enforcement agencies will work together to help find the missing person,” an RCMP spokesperson said in an email to APTN.

Except police have no legal authority to detain a person of legal age who is deemed to be “safe and not in any danger.”

“It is not a crime to go missing in Canada if you are an adult,” the email reads. “The only information the police are allowed to share with the family or complainant is that the person has been located safe and sound.”

Though the family has returned home to Alberta, they can’t rule out another exploratory trip to Montreal in the future.

“She was the most beautiful person I knew,” Ryver recounted.

“[Lorilee], we just want you to know that it’s us that are looking for you. We miss you and we love you so much,” Lance said.

“We want to ask you a whole bunch of questions so we understand why you’ve been gone so long.”

Anyone in Montreal who spots Lorilee is advised to contact local police force, the SPVM.

https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-ne...f-lorilee-mae-francis-to-montreal-for-search/