Vancouver marchers demand answers to Chealsea Poorman’s death

Supporters and family members of Chelsea Poorman gathered in Vancouver on Saturday, vowing to keep up the pressure for answers about her death.

Poorman, a 24-year-old member of the Kwacatoose First Nation of Saskatchewan, was last seen September 6, 2020 in downtown Vancouver. His remains were found 17 months later behind a vacant house in the upscale neighborhood of Shaughnessy.

“Right now, as things stand, our main objective is to get answers on what exactly happened to Chelsea. As I said before, she didn’t just come here to lie down. and die,” her mother Sheila said at a gathering outside the house where she was found.

Vancouver police said Poorman’s cause of death may never be known due to his remains decomposing by the time they were found. However, police say they found no evidence of foul play.

Poorman’s mother says the coroner told her part of her daughter’s skull and some of her fingers were missing when she was found.

“She was covered with a blanket. Did an animal go under that blanket and take the part, then put the blanket back in place? It doesn’t seem right,” she said.

“Someone obviously brought her here, someone knew this place was empty.”

Sheila said police have since pledged to search a nearby park with a dead dog to see if they can find any more remains of her daughter.

Along with questions about her daughter’s death and why it took so long to find her remains, Sheila remains focused on the Vancouver police’s response, which she says lacked urgency.

She said it took investigators 10 days to issue a missing persons bulletin for her daughter.

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“For the police not to take this seriously, it was the worst thing I had to do, losing my daughter and them not taking me seriously,” she said.

“I cried for them, I told them she was vulnerable. And they didn’t take me seriously. One of the questions they asked was what is his nationality. They asked if she was native and I said yes. I didn’t know what it was for.

Outside the vacant home, supporters gave speeches and held a ceremony for Poorman.

Many wore red dresses, a symbol of missing and murdered Indigenous women, or painted red handprints on their mouths.

“We will walk together in support of this dear mother,” said Nisga’a Nation member Victoria Good. “Women have been taken from us – killed, murdered, raped – like this young woman, which is heartbreaking. It has to stop, awareness has to be global.

Supporters then led a march down Granville Street to Granville and Davie, where Poorman was last seen.

While Vancouver police initially appeared to suggest Poorman’s case was closed, investigators have since said the case remains open and active.

Vancouver police said they took the case seriously from the start and committed significant resources, including lead investigators from homicide and major crime units.

Sheila said police have since received some advice, but nothing concrete. She urged anyone who has photos of the Granville Entertainment District taken the day her daughter disappeared to go back and see them again to see if Chelsea appears in the background.

“I’m glad people are still calling and trying to help. Any little thing will help, I know it. Even if you think you saw her that night, let us know,” she said.

In the meantime, Sheila Poorman promises to keep up the pressure for answers to her daughter’s disappearance, and she has sent a direct message to anyone who might have accompanied Chelsea to the house where she was found.

“I ask you to come forward so that we, the family, can put an end to what has happened to Chelsea. Please move forward. You can do it anonymously, you can contact me,” she said.

“I’m not going to stop fighting until I get answers about what happened behind that house, what happened with Chelsea. I want to change our relationship with the city police Vancouver and First Nations,” she added.