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Part 3 of our Highway of Tears series examines some of the most infamous missing and murdered cases along Highways 16, 5, and 97 in British Columbia, from the 1990s to the present day.

We explore the disappearances of Delphine Nikal, Ramona Wilson, Roxanne Thiara, Alisha Germaine, Lana Derrick, Nicole Hoar, and Aielah Saric-Auger, tracing patterns of neglect, systemic racism, and missed investigative opportunities.

Join Arlene and Leah as they confront how geography, isolation, and indifference created a killing ground, and why justice remains elusive decades later.

Show Notes

A Lingering Evil: From Residential Schools to Murdered Women
Delphine Nikal: Disappeared While Hitchhiking on Highway 16
Ramona Wilson: A Teen’s Murder That Changed Canada’s Awareness
Roxanne Thiara Remembered, 31 Years Later
Alisha Germaine: Murdered at 14
Lana Derrick: Forestry Student Who Vanished in 1995
Nicole Hoar: Alberta Tree Planter Missing Since 2002
Aielah Saric-Auger: Murdered Along Highway 16
If She Was White, She Would Still Be Here
The Stories of the Victims of the Highway of Tears

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For more than five decades, a remote stretch of road in British Columbia has been the epicenter of one of Canada’s darkest crises. The Highway of Tears is home to dozens of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and families — many cases mishandled, ignored, or never fully investigated.

In this episode, Arlene and Leah uncover: The disappearance of the Jack Family, the tragic story of Alberta Williams, RCMP misconduct and systemic failures, & how racism, isolation, and lack of resources compounded a national tragedy.

🔗 Show Notes: Sources & Further Reading

Stories of the Victims Behind Canada’s Highway of Tears
Cold Case Files: Highway of Tears – Prince George
A Mother Still Searching for Answers: Shelley’s 37-Year Mystery
History of Residential Schools in Canada
The Jack Family Disappearance: 35 Years Without Answers
Police Renew Search for the Missing Jack Family
Stranger Offering “Odd Jobs” May Be Key in Jack Family Case
“Smoke on the Asphalt”: An Indigenous Family’s Fight for Justice
CBC’s Missing & Murdered – Episode Transcript
The Unsolved Murder of Alberta Williams
Police Abuse Allegations in Prince George RCMP
Province Orders Investigation Into RCMP Misconduct
Archived News Report: Early Clues & Coverage
Supreme Court Case: Landmark Decision Tied to Investigation
SCC News Note: Updates Related to the Case
Convicted Murderer of Two Indigenous Women Denied Parole

Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes

• Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
• Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
• Donate to Seasons of Justice
• Listen to Darkcast Network Shows
• Join Uncovered.com
• Donate to Project Cold Case

Send us a text

The Highway of Tears is ground zero in one of Canada’s darkest ongoing tragedies. For more than 50 years, dozens of people – mostly Indigenous women and girls – have been murdered or gone missing along Highway 16 and its connecting routes in northern British Columbia. Despite RCMP task forces and national attention, these cases have been plagued by racism, mismanagement, jurisdictional confusion, and a chronic lack of funding and manpower.

In this episode of Box in the Basement, Arlene and Leah open the first boxes from the early years of the Highway of Tears – the late 1960s through the 1970s. They explore how a remote stretch of road with no public transit, limited cell coverage, deep poverty, and systemic indifference became a hunting ground for serial predators and a graveyard of unanswered questions.

Show Notes:

Finding Closure Fifty Years After a Murder
Gloria Lee Levina Moody (1969): A Case Never Truly Closed
Micheline Paré: A Young Hitchhiker’s Unsolved Murder
A Case Never Opened: Tracey Clifton
Listening to Indigenous Women’s Stories
A Teen Disappears Months After Giving Birth: Helen Claire Frost (1970)
Searching for a Birth Mother Missing Since 1970
The Mysterious Disappearance of Helen Claire Frost
Jean Virginia Sampare: Vanished at 18 Along Highway 16
MMIW Profile: Jean Virginia Sampare
The Teen Who Vanished While Pregnant with Twins: Velma Marie Duncan (1972)
“Highway of Tears” Murder Solved With Improbable DNA Sample
Oldest DNA Match in Interpol History Links U.S. Serial Killer to Highway of Tears Victim
In Memory – Official Highway of Tears Victims
The Road That Swallows Souls: Investigating the Highway of Tears

Support Box in the Basement & Our Causes

• Leon Laurales: Website & GoFundMe
• Follow us on Facebook & Instagram
• Donate to Seasons of Justice
• Listen to Darkcast Network Shows
• Join Uncovered.com
• Donate to Project Cold Case