‘We’re not giving up’
Sister of missing North West River man says family vows to keep searching for answers
“If anything, I feel like we were kind of doing him dirty in a sense. I mean, we don’t even have (his) body yet, but I knew at the same time that the kids needed that because the kids need to know that he’s gone.” Sheila Cooper speaking of her missing brother, Luke Cooper
Friends and family of Luke Cooper, the 43-year-old North West River man presumed dead after his canoe capsized in July gathered was remembered at a memorial service.
“We did it Luke-style, so we aimed towards the kids more so than the adults,” said his sister Sheila Cooper.
There was a full house for the memorial at the church, with the audience filling the basement as well as the main floor.
“Then we all went down to the river and we all put our flowers in the water to Oral Burden singing ‘Amazing Grace,’” she told The Labradorian.
After the service, they gathered at the community centre, where there was face-painting and rock painting for the kids and a barbecue for all.
“We had beer cans in brown paper bags that said, ‘One for the road.’ Everybody thought it was pretty cool, I think. It was nice,” Cooper said.
While the memorial may have acknowledged Luke’s passing, it did not bring closure for Sheila or the rest of the family.
They still have questions about what happened to Luke on the night of July 15. Despite extensive searches of the river, his body has not been recovered.
“If anything, I feel like we were kind of doing him dirty in a sense,” Sheila said. “I mean, we don’t even have (his) body yet, but I knew at the same time that the kids needed that because the kids need to know that he’s gone.”
Although the RCMP wrapped up the official search for Luke on the night of July 17, the family and community continued to search steadily for two weeks.
That effort included help from a group of volunteer divers called 73 Days, who provided guidance and reenacted the incident with the canoe, using a life-sized dummy to show how Luke’s body might have been carried by the currents and tides, his sister said.
The search is continuing, although it has slowed down to mostly on the weekends.
“I’m afraid everybody’s going to quit and I don’t really know how to keep the interest out there besides offering free gas for people to search,” Sheila said.
“We’ve spent out over $20,000 and we still have a bit more here, but we’re going to have to sort out some more fundraising and stuff.
“We’re not giving up; I don’t see a reason to give up. There’s no reason why we can’t find his body.”
While police are no longer searching for Luke’s body, a spokesperson for the RCMP told The Labradorian their investigation into the death is ongoing. Beyond that, they would offer no other details. Sheila said she got a similar response from officers at the Sheshatshiu detachment this week.
She has also enlisted the help of Lake Melville MHA Perry Trimper to get the ground search and rescue team back to the area now that water levels have dropped.
Trimper was a member of that team prior to being elected to the legislature and has remained peripherally involved. He said he personally joined the search for Luke on three occasions and that he contacted the team on Sheila’s behalf following her request last week.
“Whether the search and rescue team goes out, it’s really their call,” he said in an interview. “Typically, whenever there is any kind of incident, the RCMP will contact the ground search and rescue team and request their support.
“That said, the team is still able to go on its own initiative and do searches. Those discussions are ongoing as recent as (Tuesday).”
He said it is not uncommon for the team to go out at various intervals, even up to a year after an incident, depending on various factors. However, he couldn’t say whether that would happen in this case.
“It becomes quite subjective,” he explained. “There’s a lot of science around what’s happening with a body and so on, but you’re talking an extremely large area, a variety of currents, tides, there’s lots to consider.
“When I think about being part of the extensive efforts to date . . . people on the water, people dragging, people diving, drones, aerial over-flights, there has been extensive work. That doesn’t mean people give up though, so the team are discussing it and they will make a call.”
Sheila’s Facebook page currently features a cover photo overlaid by the words “Justice For Luke: Never Going to Give Up. She believes there are too many unanswered questions and vows that as long as they remain, the family will not stop looking.
“We want an autopsy,” she said. “I want to know how my brother died.”