Yesterday marks 31 years since 16-year-old Ramona Lisa Wilson vanished from her hometown of Smithers, British Columbia. The Gitanmaax teen was last seen on June 11, 1994, after telling her mother she planned to meet a friend and attend graduation parties. When she didn’t come home, her family reported her missing. A search began two days later.
Almost a year later, on April 9, 1995, her body was discovered in a wooded area near the Smithers airport. Her murder remains unsolved. Ramona’s case is part of Project E-PANA, an RCMP task force dedicated to investigating cases of missing and murdered women and girls along Highway 16, a region now known as the Highway of Tears.
Her mother, Matilda Wilson, and sister, Brenda, continue to advocate for justice—not only for Ramona, but for all Indigenous women who’ve gone missing or been murdered in Canada. Each June, the Wilson family leads a memorial walk in Ramona’s name, honouring her life and raising awareness for the many other unsolved cases.
Thirty-one years later, the Wilsons say they still hold out hope for answers, and they won’t stop fighting until Ramona’s story has justice.
