CANADA CANADA - Velma Marie Duncan, 18, Williams Lake, British Columbia, 3 May 1972

[TheArtfulDetective]

Velma Marie Duncan

Age 18
Race First Nations
Sex Female
Location Williams Lake,
British Columbia
Disappeared May 3 or 4, 1972
Missing for 49 years
Height 5'1"
Weight 110 - 120 pounds
Classification Suspected homicide

Background

Velma Marie Duncan (born April 4, 1954), who was also known as Thelma, was a young woman who disappeared a few days after an argument with her common-law spouse.

Velma was a member of the Stswecem’c Xgatem Nation (Also known as the Canoe Creek Indian Band). She'd previously attended a residential school near Kamloops, British Columbia.

Velma was the youngest of eleven children. Her family said she was happy and loved to tease others. Isidore Kalelest, Velma's brother, does not recall her being depressed or having any major problems at the time of her disappearance.

Case
In April 1972, Velma left the Gang Ranch (also known as Canoe Creek) area after a dispute with her common-law spouse. She travelled to Williams Lake via hitchhiking and arrived at her sister's residence in early May 1972. Velma and her sister visited the downtown core of Williams Lake, where Velma was last seen entering a bar.

Since Velma's disappearance, no Canadian or American services have been utilized under her name and she has not contacted loved ones. The only belongings Velma had with her at the time was pocket money. Her wallet, ID, an uncashed cheque, and other personal belongings were left at her residence.

The investigation into Velma's disappearance was relatively alive until the death of her common-law spouse. Isidore believes Velma was murdered and their mother has since passed away.

Characteristics

• Brown eyes.
• Long, brown hair typically worn in a bun.
• Velma was four months pregnant with twins.

Velma Duncan

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Velma Duncan, Missing from British Columbia since 1972.

Velma was 17 years old when she disappeared from Williams Lake, British Columbia on May 3rd, 1972. Velma was last seen by her brother in April of that year when she was hitchhiking to Williams Lake from Gang Ranch. She stayed with her sister in Williams lake and was last seen entering a bar on May 3rd or 4th and has not been heard from since. Velma's brother says she had a common-law husband at the time and may have been meeting up with him. She had initially left the Gang Ranch area due to a domestic dispute with him. Velma's mother has since passed away but her brother is still in contact with Williams Lake police. He has told the media he doesn't believe his sister is still alive. Velma was pregnant with twins at the time and remains missing.

If you have any information regarding the disappearance or whereabouts of Velma Duncan, you are encouraged to contact the Williams Lake RCMP at 1-250-392-6211.

DOB: Unavailable, Circa 1954.
Description: Velma was 5'1 and 110 pounds at the time of her disappearance. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

Tribal Information: Velma is a member of the Stswecem'c Xgatem Nation of British Columbia. She usually wore her hair in a bun. She goes by the nickname "Thelma." She was pregnant with twins when she vanished.

Justice for Native People: Velma Duncan, Missing from British Columbia since 1972.

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

Velma Marie Duncan
18 years old, from Canoe Creek Indian Band

Isidore Felix Kalelest, who is now 71 years old, remembers his younger sister saying she was heading out and would see him later.

That was 43 years ago. Isidore still doesn’t know what happened to his sister, Velma Duncan.

The two siblings were living together in a little place on the outskirts of Williams Lake. Isidore remembers renting the place while working as a logger.

“Never knew where she was going,” he said.

Velma had a boyfriend and Isidore wondered if she was making her way to see him, or was just heading to town.

Isidore doesn’t recall Velma being unhappy or having any problems -- at least nothing that she mentioned.

But he says he's clear on one thing: He doesn’t think Velma is alive.

“It’s been too long, you know,” he said. “There's been nothing shown up in any of the computers or anything.”

He believes his sister was killed by somebody, though Isidore says that's hard for him to think about.

“I think he's the only one that has been really searching for answers,” said Shelia Kalelest Booth, Isidore's daughter.

She recalls her granny longing to know what happened to her daughter, Velma.

“She would pray and cry,” said Booth. “She [would say], ‘She is here, she's here,’ but she never did know.”

Her grandmother passed away without ever knowing what happened to Velma.

Booth says the police rarely contact her father. For the most part, it is Isidore contacting them.

Isidore was never the main contact from the beginning, but he tries his best to keep Velma’s case active.

“Six months ago, I got in contact with the police officer in Williams Lake here, but he never really got to tell me anything,” he said.

Isidore says he is not getting any younger, and it's best for him to share what he can recollect.

“I think they should have tried more to find out what really happened to her,” he said, referring to the police.

He thinks the police were getting close to solving Velma’s case when her boyfriend was still alive. But as soon as the boyfriend passed away, Isidore said the case went stale.

He believes there should be a federal inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada.

“Something has to be done," he said. "I mean, there's all these women."

Booth says far too often, families are left in the dark, not knowing what happened to their loved ones.

“That's what my dad is looking for – some kind of closure.”

https://www.cbc.ca/missingandmurdered/mmiw/profiles/velma-marie-duncan

 

[spartanx]

As always happens in these cases, the husband is the main suspect... I have the impression that she is a native woman or at least biracial... they generally receive little attention and publicity for being like this... she must have been dead for many years, perhaps in some remote sector...
whatever she is
she rest in peace