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Sister of missing woman marks anniversary of raid at Pickton farm

Maple RidgeB次元官网网址檚 Sandra Gagnon remembers her sister Janet Henry
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Sandra Gagnon is remembering her sister Janet Henry, whose disappearance is associated with Robert Pickton. (The B次元官网网址 files)

This week marked a terrible anniversary for Maple RidgeB次元官网网址檚 Sandra Gagnon.

It was 20 years ago on Sunday that police raided the Port Coquitlam farm of Robert B次元官网网址淲illieB次元官网网址 Pickton, and for the first time she began learning about the serial killer who is believed responsible for her sisterB次元官网网址檚 disappearance.

Monday was also a tragic anniversary B次元官网网址 the day when her son, who was 23, took his own life.

Her sister Janet Henry, who lived in VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Downtown Eastside neighbourhood and had reportedly worked in the sex trade, had been missing since June of 1997.

B次元官网网址淲e were going to go out that week, but she didnB次元官网网址檛 call me,B次元官网网址 she recalled.

Gagnon got no return phone calls, which was very unusual. As she started asking questions, Gagnon knew something was wrong. Henry, 34, had left her place, leaving all her possessions, and nobody saw her return. Her bank account still had money in it. Nobody could say what had happened to her.

B次元官网网址淭he not knowing was really ugly,B次元官网网址 said Gagnon.

PicktonB次元官网网址檚 farm became the focus of a large-scale police investigation in February of 2002. Ultimately, the case would result in 22 charges of murder against Pickton. He was convicted in 2007 on six counts of second-degree murder, but is suspected of having many more victims, based on evidence found at the farm.

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It has never been proven that Henry was one of PicktonB次元官网网址檚 victims, but her face was one of 64 on a poster of missing women from the DTES. A Missing WomenB次元官网网址檚 Task Force believes her disappearance was tied to Pickton.

B次元官网网址淲e havenB次元官网网址檛 got any answers, but the task force is almost certain that Janet ended up there. They know more than we do, but they donB次元官网网址檛 tell us everything,B次元官网网址 she said in 2011.

Gagnon testified before a Missing Women Inquiry that investigated the disappearances of 67 B.C. women. She was in regular contact with investigators, pressing them for information, and keeping the memory of her sister alive.

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Gagnon had grown up in Alert Bay until the age of 12, when she moved to Vancouver with her mother and siblings. Little Janet was the youngest of 13 children, four years younger than Gagnon.

Henry also lived in Maple Ridge, working as a hairdresser. Gagnon said her sister she had wanted to quit using drugs and alcohol, and reconnect with her loved ones.

The sisters were close, and on a tough anniversary, itB次元官网网址檚 not hard for Gagnon to conjure up a memory of better times.

B次元官网网址淚 just think about how loving she was, and how she was there for me and my kids,B次元官网网址 she said. B次元官网网址淚 remember how she used to come to visit me, and go picnicking down at the Port Haney docks.B次元官网网址

To deal with the loss of her sister, and her son, Gagnon said she would start putting her thoughts and experiences down on paper.

B次元官网网址淚 try to be strong, but losing a child is the worst thing in the world,B次元官网网址 she said.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 going to write a book. Starting today. Hopefully itB次元官网网址檚 a book that will tell women that they can get through anything.B次元官网网址


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Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows B次元官网网址.
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