Missing mother of 2 found dead near Dawson Creek, B.C., RCMP say

RCMP say human remains found near Dawson Creek, B.C., have been identified as a woman who was reported missing late last year.

Renee Didier, who family say sometimes used the surname Supernant, was found on May 18 near the Kiskatinaw River, which runs west of the northeastern B.C. city.

The Cree woman, who was a mother of two, was last seen on gas station surveillance footage from Dec. 3, 2023 and was reported missing on Dec. 7.

Didier, who was 40 when she disappeared, is one of four people to go missing from Dawson Creek —  a city in the Peace River region around 740 kilometres north of Vancouver and 20 kilometres from the Alberta border that has a population of 12,000 — last year, prompting community-wide searches and questions about public safety.

Among the others to go missing are Didier's cousin, Darylyn Supernant, who was last seen on March 15, 2023.

Also missing are Dave Daniel Domingo, a 24-year-old believed to have been in a rural area near Dawson Creek on Aug. 29 when police responded to reports of a possible shooting.

Cole Hosack, a 24-year-old from Prince George, was last seen on New Year's Eve at the same bar where Didier was spotted shortly before she disappeared.

In addition to the discovery of Didier, police found human remains on April 19 on the 219 Road near Saskatoon Creek, north of the city. They have not announced a positive identification in that case.

The RCMP's North District Major Crime Unit is investigating both Didier's death and the other set of remains.

Anyone with information about Didier's death or disappearance is asked to call Dawson Creek RCMP at 250-784-3700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Remembered as 'fun loving' by grandmother

In a previous interview with CBC News, Didier's grandmother Verna Cardinal described her as a "fun loving" mother of two.

"She was always laughing a lot," Cardinal said.

She expressed concern that Didier had been associating with people involved with drugs shortly before her disappearance. Cardinal said she was supposed to pick up her granddaughter the night she disappeared but "she never did call me."

Walter Mineault, who is acting as a family spokesperson for both Didier and Supernant and identified as their uncle, said the discovery of Didier's remains provides no closure because her death remains a mystery.

Mineault, a vice-president with the Métis Nation of B.C., said missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada don't get the attention they deserve from law enforcement and policymakers.

"There hasn't been enough emphasis on trying to find out why this is happening," he told The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

He remembered Didier as a loving mother who was close to her family.

"She was very vibrant. She was a very strong-minded young lady. She had lots of friends. She was very family orientated. Her friends and her family were very important to her. You know, she enjoyed life," Mineault said.

Mineault is urging anyone with information about his niece's death to come forward to police.

"You can't have closure unless you know the whole story," he said. "Our families are hurting. Our families have been destroyed over these issues and it's just too much to deal with at times.

"So, until we can find out who is doing these crimes and stop them from committing these crimes further, it's just going to continue."

Mineault said Dawson Creek and other communities in the region have seen a troubling rise of violence and crime tied to the drug trade, causing unease and fear.

"We have to lock our doors. We have to lock our houses. Years ago we never had to. ... Our door was always open and now we can't do that because of fear for our lives," he said.

"That shouldn't be a way of life. That should not be a way we should have to live."