Thelma Krull: People wear purple in support of missing woman

Family and friends ofThelma Krullare asking the public to wear purple as a sign of support for the Winnipeg woman who has been missing for 11 days.

"There's two [reasons]: One is that Thelma looks great in purple. The other thing is, people are really talking about her purple hair streak. So, purple just makes sense," saidConnie Muscat,a close friend of Krull.

"We're trying once again to keep the community talking, keep the community together. We want people to walk by someone, see purple, ask them if they're wearing purple forThelmaand support each other."

Employees at SPIKE Inc. (Special People in Kildonan East),on Henderson Highway,put on their purple Wednesday

Krull, who was last seen on July 11,worked at SPIKE,which providesrespite care for mentally and physically challenged people.

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Meanwhile, agroup of indigenousWinnipeggersare doing what they can to help findKrull.

Several community-led search efforts have come up empty-handed, with police admitting they need all the help they can get at this point tofind the missing57-year-old woman.

Kim Rickerof Lake St. Martin First Nationled another, smaller search party near Elmwood High School Tuesday night for the second time this week.

"I believe that every missing person matters and that everyone should get involved," Ricker said.

Faye Tindall, a Winnipeg high school teacher,tookpart in the search.

"My daughter is 23 and beautiful and aboriginal, and so everytime a girl or woman goes missing it really hits home," said Tindall

Ricker has searched for missing people beforeas part of the indigenous-led group behindDrag The Red. That group combs the Red River with hooksbehind boats hoping to find clues in unsolved cases of missing and murdered indigenous women.

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But it was aFacebook post that compelled Rickerto join the search for Krull.

"1,200 missing and murdered aboriginal women and no one bats an eye.... Onewhite woman goes missing in Winnipeg and everyone loses their minds," the Facebook post read.

While she understands the frustration behind that post, Ricker said shehopes that joining the search sends a message.

"I'm hoping that if it was one of ours, we would get the same response. You've got to give compassion to get compassion," she said.

The small groupwillcontinue searching the Elmwood area for the next few daysbefore joining the larger search,which is taking place further east in the city, Ricker said.