Catherine Curtis search continues in Winnipeg a week after she went missing - Action News
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Manitoba

Catherine Curtis search continues in Winnipeg a week after she went missing

The family of Cathy Curtis is asking Winnipeggers not to give up the search for the 60-year-old woman a week after she went missing when she left the Grace Hospital.

'We can't lose hope, because at the end of the day, she's still missing,' daughter says

Cathy Curtis went missing April 25, 2016. after leaving Grace Hospital. She was found dead May 4, 2016. (Courtesy Winnipeg Police Service)

The family of Cathy Curtis is asking Winnipeggers not to give up the search for the 60-year-old woman a week after she went missing when she left the Grace Hospital.

"It's been draining on the front lines, but at the same time, this is our mom," said Janelle DePeazer, Curtis's daughter.

"We can't lose hope because at the end of the day, she's still missing."

Curtis was last seen Monday morning in St. James.

She was admitted to the Grace Hospital on April 13 for mental health issues,DePeazersaid.

Curtis left on a hospital-approved unaccompanied walk last Monday and never came back. Although she has gone on walks before, her family says it is unlike her to not check in with them.

"[She's]The most kind loving gentle person that you've ever met. And she didn't like attention, things drawn to her. Very humble. Very much a family person," she said.

Volunteers at the Sturgeon Creek Community Centre are handing out posters and maps of the St. James area to volunteer searchers again today.

"We welcome people to do whatever they can to bring my mom back home," saidDePeazer, adding the stress of her disappearance is taking its toll.

"You just don't know when the emotion's going to hit you. We're in this limbo," she said.

Police and volunteers have searched parks and other outdoor spaces in and around the hospital in the past few days, and dive teams were used for the first time Friday. The missing persons unit continues thesearch today.

Police encourage homeowners in St. James to check buildings on their property for Curtis.

She is 5-foot-4, thin, weighs 85 pounds and has long white hair she often wears in a ponytail. She was wearing a navy blue jacket, dark plaid pants and white sneakers when she was last seen, police said.

DePeazer is friends with Laresa and Brent Sayles, Cooper Nemeth's aunt and uncle, and she helped search for the Winnipeg teen in the days before his body was found.

"They've been very helpful to us," she said, through tears.

"Who would've thought a few months later this would be happening to us?It's just surreal."

She adds experience has also shown her the generosity and compassionof Winnipeggers who have been touched by her mother's story.

"We would do the same for anybody else really, and to be honest, the support has been phenomenal and we feel quite overwhelmed and supported by the people who have come out," she said.

Anyone with information regarding Curtis's whereabouts is urged to contact the missing persons unit at 204-986-6250.

"We won't stop until she's found," said DePeazer.

Corrections

  • Catherine Curtis has not gone missing before, her family says. An earlier version of this story stated she had.
    May 02, 2016 12:37 PM CT