Missing women prompt protest
Group gathers at Vernon courthouse after appearance by man charged with threatening sex-trade worker
On the steps of the Vernon courthouse Thursday morning, a group of men and women sang warrior songs to remember their missing sisters and pray for answers.
Their protest followed the court appearance of Curtis Wayne Sagmoen, the 36-year-old with ties to the Salmon River Road property where RCMP have found human remains and continue their investigation.
Sagmoen has been held on charges relating to an Aug. 28 incident in which a sex-trade worker alleges he threatened her with a gun. Sagmoen is facing charges of disguising his face with intent to commit an offence, intentionally discharging a firearm while reckless, uttering threats, careless use or storage of a firearm, pointing a firearm, possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose and possession of a controlled substance.
Appearing via video conference Thursday, Sagmoen looked unkempt with long hair and a beard. His case was held over, and he will next appear in court Nov. 23 to set a hearing date. No charges were laid in relation to the search at his family’s property.
Last weekend, RCMP confirmed human remains were found at the Sagmoen family farm at 2290 Salmon River Rd., in the Silver Creek area south of Salmon Arm.
Police have bolstered their presence at the property, fencing areas off from view and bringing in toilets and supplies. However, at a media conference at the site Thursday, reporters were given no new information about what officers have found so far.
While RCMP have discouraged speculation that there’s a connection between the investigation and the disappearance of five women from the Okanagan-Shuswap area, members of the Okanagan Indian band and the Adams Lake band sang and drummed on the courthouse steps to protest violence against women.
“Anxiety is high for these families right now,” said Meagan Louis, a Vernon resident with a cousin missing from Regina.
“There are also lingering questions: Is that my daughter? Is that her remains? Who is it?
“I’m sure all the families want closure and they want to find their missing loved ones.”
Among the women who have gone missing from the area since early 2016 are Deanna
Wertz, 47, and Ashley Simpson, 32, who lived on nearby Yankee Flats Road, and Caitlin Potts, 27, who lived in Salmon Arm for a time and could have been near Enderby when she disappeared. Eighteen-year-old Traci Genereaux went missing from Vernon last May, and Nicole Bell was last seen in Sicamous in September 2017.
A publication ban has been imposed that will keep the media from naming the victim and any witnesses to the Aug. 28 incident.