Repeated missing persons like 'constantly hitting the reset button'

On a frigid morning in Saskatoon,Det.-Const. Chris Harris stood in the back doorway of an Avenue U home, chatting with its occupants.

A 20-year-old woman was reported missing by her mother two weeks earlier.

"She's not under arrestbut she's been reported missing," he told the person who answered the door.

It's like constantly hitting the reset button.- Sgt. DaveLaroque,SaskatoonPolice Service

"So I'm trying to find her and make sure she's OK."

He recitesa version of this script 10 or 20 times a day across the city.

The Saskatoon Police Service will investigate 2,800 reports of missing people this year. A decade ago, there were 900 annually.

• Saskatoon police flooded with missing person reports

A few of these are suspected murders, suicides or abductions. Some are vulnerable adults with addictions. The vast majority are kids running away from foster parents or a group home.

Harris usually finds them with a birth parent or relative. He takes them back. They run again.

One 14-year-old Saskatoon girl has been reported missing 63 times this year.

"It's like constantly hitting the reset button," said Harris' colleague, Sgt. Dave Laroque.

The situation is frustrating, but Harris and Laroque say officers must guard against complacency.

"When people are reported missing, especially with habitual people, it can be 10 times a year. It can be 20 times a year. It can be three times in a week," said Harris.

"But you have to treat each one like it's of the utmost concern."

The problem is complex and it can't be solved by police, say those familiar with the issue. It will take political will and an entire community effort.

Until then, Harris and his fellow officers will spend thousands of hours each year playing this game.

Until then, Saskatoon taxpayers will continue to pay for this system, said one expert.

And until then, this city's most vulnerable youth will keep running.

Not a problem police can solve

"Unless something changes, it's going to get worse," said Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Felix Thomas.

Harris said it would be nice to get more help from social workers or those operating group homes. They know the kids and families, and are less intimidating on the doorstep. Harris understands that's often not possible with their increasing caseloads.

Thomas, Saskatoon Police ChiefCliveWeighilland others say everyone should ask why the kids are running. In most cases, it's not a problem police can solve.

Our kids are being lost. Our families are being lost. You've got to heal the whole damn family.- SharonAcoose,First Nations University of Canada social work associate professor

Weighillpoints to "social determinants."

"When you've got people brought up in poverty and poor housing and disadvantage, their lifestyle is not conducive to looking forward to the future,"Weighillsaid.

Thomas and First Nations University of Canada social work associate professor SharonAcooseagree. They say vulnerable kids and their families must be given hope.

Government supports to care homes must be improved, they add.

More effort must be made to place kids with relatives. In some cases, an aunt or grandparent is willing to care for the child but can't get foster parent funding, they say.

Acoosesees connections to the residential school system or Sixties Scoop, where children were taken away from parents seen as unfit.

To prevent runaways, the real solution is to take fewer kids from their families. Birth parents struggling with poverty, mental health or addictions need more help,Acoosesaid. The additional money spent helping birth parents would pay for itself many times over, she said. It would halt the heartbreaking cycle of separation and reunification.

"Our kids are being lost. Our families are being lost,"Acoosesaid. "You've got to heal the whole damn family."

It would also free up Harris and other officers to spend time on other cases.

High priority for provincial government

Provincial Social Services Minister TinaBeaudry-Mellorsaid she has spoken withWeighillabout the issue and it's a high priority for the government.

I'm a believer that change is coming.- SharonAcoose

Beaudry-Mellorsaid increasing efforts are being made to keep kids with birth parents or relatives, but that's not always possible. The primary concern is the child's safety, she said.

"It's a constant juggling act."

The government is partnering with community groups and Indigenous agencies to address the problem and offer comprehensive "wraparound supports."

Acoosesaid it's a start, but much more can be done. If the government can afford to subsidize a professional football stadium, it can afford this, she said.

"I'm a believer that change is coming,"Acoosesaid. "Maybe I won't see it or you won't, but I think it's happening. We all need to work at it."

Not enough hours in the day

Harris sat at his desk, scrolling through the 11 new missing person reports that came in during the weekend. Two of the kids were located on Saturday but ran again the same day.

Of the thousands of calls police receive for missing persons, three have remained outstanding for more than six months. He suspects one is living in Mexico. Another case is in the hands of major crimes investigators. The third is likely a suicide but a body has not been found.

Harris checks social media, a rich source of clues and photos. Many don't have criminal records, so mugshots are non-existent.

There's not enough hours in the day to give them all the attention that they deserve.- Det.-Const. Chris Harris,SaskatoonPolice Service

"I don't know what they look like," he said. "I could walk by them in the mall and not know who they are."

Harris got dressed and preparedto head out. He was in plain clothes, including a black tuque he won at a recent U.S. race requiring competitors run through mud and over obstacles for 24 hours.

He was also wearing a bulletproof vest and a standard police belt with a gun and other tools.

Harris drove to thatfamiliar bungalow on Avenue U. The 20-year-old woman, who has a history of drug addiction, has been texting her mom for money and is in contact with friends. She's active on Facebook. But until Harris or the mother can physically see the woman or hear her voice, the investigation continues.

At the bungalow, Harris spoke with the woman's boyfriend. He describeda yellow house on 20th Street, but doesn't have an address.

Harris drove around the neighbourhood and eventually found the right house. The people there know the woman but she's not around. One of her friends might be eating at the Friendship Inn. Harris walked back to his van.

"This is a perfect example. I've been to that [Avenue U] house four times. Now I'm here. Now I'll have to go back to this house. I could go to the Friendship Inn and I'm really not a whole lot closer."

Harris decidedto move on to the next case.

"I've got eight of these on the go right now," he said. "I mean, there's not enough hours in the day to give them all the attention that they deserve."