Latest news with #NatanisMerasty
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Yahoo
Police, family seeking answers about woman who disappeared in Edmonton
Natanis Merasty, 24, was last seen in Edmonton on May 5. There have been no confirmed sightings since, but her vehicle was seen travelling through B.C. and Saskatchewan before it was found abandoned.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Yahoo
Family of missing Cree woman pleads for information after Edmonton disappearance
With no trace of 24-year-old Natanis Merasty for more than two months, her family is pleading for answers about what happened to her. Merasty, a member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation who is from La Ronge, Sask., was last seen in Edmonton on May 5. With no confirmed sightings since, Edmonton Police Service is now leading the investigation into the suspicious disappearance. Merasty's aunt and godmother, Marcela Merasty, said Friday that it isn't normal for her niece to be out of touch with family members for so long. "By this time, she'd be calling home for family. Anything that was ever wrong with her, she came to us for support," she said. "The people who have any answers, come forward. Let it out of your heart. Let us family have closure in this." EPS Det. Lisa Riou said police believe Merasty came to Edmonton with friends or acquaintances. She said police have spoken with people who had contact with Merasty in the city, and there a number of "people of interest." While Merasty hasn't been seen since she was in Edmonton, police have traced the path of her vehicle in the days that followed. She appears on surveillance footage from the Continental Inn in west Edmonton, and then a nearby 7-Eleven, in the early morning hours of May 5. After that, police say her car passed through Edmonton and Sherwood Park, east of the city, before travelling southwest. It passed through the areas of Buck Lake, Nordegg and Lake Louise in Alberta, before crossing into B.C. On May 7, the vehicle was on a ferry to Nanaimo, B.C. Three days later, it was back in the Edmonton area, before travelling west, where it was seen west of Lloydminster, on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. On May 15 — 10 days after Merasty was last seen — her vehicle was found abandoned, repainted from black to silver, in James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Riou said there aren't any confirmed images of Merasty during the journey into the other provinces — only the car that belonged to her. Because Edmonton is the last place she was seen, EPS is leading the investigation and working with RCMP. Investigators are still looking into whether Merasty had connections to the places her car was spotted. Riou said police are seeking tips from all three provinces involved in the investigation. "Hopefully as we seek and gain more public information, continue to work with the family, we'll put together a better, broader picture with more details." Merasty's uncle Victor Michel said the family has a lot of hope that she's still alive. "We are hurt as a family, obviously ... We are seeking our girl. We want her home." Merasty often goes by Sikwan with her family members, aunt Noreen Merasty said. If anyone sees her, she said it might help to connect with her by speaking the family's Cree language. "Just tell her in Cree, like, 'It's OK. You don't need to be scared, you don't need to hide,'" she said. "We all love you," she said, then switching to Cree to tell her niece, "Come home now." Police say anyone who may have information about where Merasty is should contact EPS or report tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
CBC
19-07-2025
- CBC
Police, family seeking answers about woman who disappeared in Edmonton
Natanis Merasty, 24, was last seen in Edmonton on May 5. There have been no confirmed sightings since, but her vehicle was seen travelling through B.C. and Saskatchewan before it was found abandoned.
CBC
19-07-2025
- CBC
Family of missing Cree woman pleads for information after Edmonton disappearance
With no trace of 24-year-old Natanis Merasty for more than two months, her family is pleading for answers about what happened to her. Merasty, a member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation who is from La Ronge, Sask., was last seen in Edmonton on May 5. With no confirmed sightings since, Edmonton Police Service is now leading the investigation into the suspicious disappearance. Merasty's aunt and godmother, Marcela Merasty, said Friday that it isn't normal for her niece to be out of touch with family members for so long. "By this time, she'd be calling home for family. Anything that was ever wrong with her, she came to us for support," she said. "The people who have any answers, come forward. Let it out of your heart. Let us family have closure in this." EPS Det. Lisa Riou said police believe Merasty came to Edmonton with friends or acquaintances. She said police have spoken with people who had contact with Merasty in the city, and there a number of "people of interest." While Merasty hasn't been seen since she was in Edmonton, police have traced the path of her vehicle in the days that followed. She appears on surveillance footage from the Continental Inn in west Edmonton, and then a nearby 7-Eleven, in the early morning hours of May 5. After that, police say her car passed through Edmonton and Sherwood Park, east of the city, before travelling southwest. It passed through the areas of Buck Lake, Nordegg and Lake Louise in Alberta, before crossing into B.C. On May 7, the vehicle was on a ferry to Nanaimo, B.C. Three days later, it was back in the Edmonton area, before travelling west, where it was seen west of Lloydminster, on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. On May 15 — 10 days after Merasty was last seen — her vehicle was found abandoned, repainted from black to silver, in James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Riou said there aren't any confirmed images of Merasty during the journey into the other provinces — only the car that belonged to her. Because Edmonton is the last place she was seen, EPS is leading the investigation and working with RCMP. Investigators are still looking into whether Merasty had connections to the places her car was spotted. Riou said police are seeking tips from all three provinces involved in the investigation. "Hopefully as we seek and gain more public information, continue to work with the family, we'll put together a better, broader picture with more details." Merasty's uncle Victor Michel said the family has a lot of hope that she's still alive. "We are hurt as a family, obviously ... We are seeking our girl. We want her home." Merasty often goes by Sikwan with her family members, aunt Noreen Merasty said. If anyone sees her, she said it might help to connect with her by speaking the family's Cree language. "Just tell her in Cree, like, 'It's OK. You don't need to be scared, you don't need to hide,'" she said. "We all love you," she said, then switching to Cree to tell her niece, "Come home now." Police say anyone who may have information about where Merasty is should contact EPS or report tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
CTV News
18-07-2025
- CTV News
SUV belonging to missing woman spotted in 3 provinces: police
Natanis Merasty has been missing since early May. (Supplied) The Edmonton Police Service says the disappearance of a Saskatchewan woman who was last seen in Edmonton is suspicious and they're looking for information about her SUV, which traveled through three provinces since the last time she was seen. Natanis Merasty, 24, was last seen in Edmonton on May 5. Natanis Merasty Natanis Merasty is seen outside the Continental Inn in Edmonton on May 5, 2025. (Credit: Edmonton Police Service) She was captured on CCTV leaving the Continental Inn at 166 Street and Stony Plain Road at 1:22 a.m. She got into her 2007 black Hyundai Tucson with a Saskatchewan plate and drove away from the hotel, returning around 1:30 a.m. Merasty left the hotel a second time at 2:37 a.m. Natanis Merasty Natanis Merasty is seen at 7-Eleven at 156 Street and Stony Plain Road in Edmonton on May 5, 2025. (Credit: Edmonton Police Service) She was captured on camera at a 7-Eleven store at 156 Street and Stony Plain Road at 2:55 a.m. It's the last known image of Merasty. Merasty's SUV travels to 3 provinces According to investigators, Merasty's SUV travelled through Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Buck Lake, Nordegg and Lake Louise on May 5. On May 6, it drove through B.C. and on May 7 it travelled by ferry to Nanaimo, B.C. Natanis Merasty The Hyundai SUV belonging to Natanis Merasty was spotted in three provinces after she was last seen on May 5, 2025. (Credit: Edmonton Police Service) On May 10 the SUV returned to the Edmonton area and it was seen west of Lloydminster on May 12. On May 15 the Hyundai was found abandoned at the James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. At the time it was found, it had been repainted silver. Natanis Merasty timeline A timeline of events surrounding the last sighting of Natanis Merasty, and the movements of her SUV after that date. (Credit: Edmonton Police Service) Investigators say there are no clear images of the driver of the vehicle between May 5 and 12, and it's unknown if Merasty was inside. She was initially reported missing to RCMP by family on May 9. The case passed to EPS on May 22. EPS investigators held a news conference on Friday in hopes of generating tips about Merasty's whereabouts. 'This missing person investigation stretches across three provinces,' Det. Lisa Riou told reporters. 'It speaks to the scale of work that's ongoing and the complexity of this case.' 'It is unlike Natanis to not be in contact with her family for long periods of time, so we consider this disappearance suspicious.' No one is in custody in the case, but Riou says investigators have identified 'a number of people of interest.' Riou says police don't know if Merasty is in the Edmonton area or one of the other locations where her SUV was spotted. 'I would hesitate to say that we have any information so specific as to one particular city,' she said. 'We want and welcome tips from those three provinces.' It's unclear if she has any connections to any of the locations where the SUV was spotted. 'A lot of hope that she's still alive' Merasty's family also addressed reporters, calling for anyone with information to come forward. 'We have a lot of hope that she's still alive,' Merasty's uncle, Victor Michel, said. 'We are seeking our girl and we want her home.' Natanis' aunt, Marcella Merasty, described her niece as soft-spoken and kind. Natanis Merasty Marcella Merasty speaks to media on July 18, 2025 about her missing niece Natanis. (CTV News Edmonton) 'She is loved. She did not deserve this. (She has) family who dearly misses her and wants her home.' Merasty has long brown hair, brown eyes, and an average build. She was last seen wearing black pants and a black and grey baseball-style long sleeve t-shirt. She was living in Prince Albert, Sask., and is a member of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. Riou says it's believed Merasty came to Edmonton with friends. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
