Saskatoon woman now missing for a year
Family in limbo as police say somebody could make a call and end their anguish
Brian Gallagher waited for his daughter to look up at the camera as she sat on his front lawn on a late September day, playing with her puppy and talking about her new career.
The candid moment he captured on a day with fairy tale weather became the photo used on a downtown Saskatoon billboard pleading for information after Megan Michelle Gallagher, 30 went missing.
When he last spoke to her on Sept. 18, 2020, her life seemed to be rolling along beautifully, he said.
She had trained at Saskatchewan Polytechnic and was working in the hospitality industry as a cook, pursuing her passion. She was excited about returning to work soon after the COVID-19 pandemic caused her temporary layoff. She aspired to be a chef.
“She had finally found what I believe to be her spot in life,” Brian said.
Megan was last seen leaving a friend's home on Lloyd Crescent on Sept. 19, 2020. Saskatoon police issued their first media release about her case on Sept. 30 — the same day they say she was reported missing to them.
They later obtained and released images from surveillance video taken a Circle K in the 3700 block of Diefenbaker Drive showing Megan in the store around 6 a.m. on Sept. 20, 2020.
Police had been investigating her disappearance as a suspicious missing persons case, then said in January that they are investigating it as a homicide.
When the family first learned Megan was missing, eating and sleeping were a challenge, Brian said.
“When you start to deal with the emotional stuff, even though I eat and sleep almost regularly now, except on days when we do walks or when there's something emotional going on, even though physically you adjust a little bit, emotionally you never do. I don't think you ever do.”
Family and friends searched areas where she was thought to have been seen, and were inundated with tips, spending hours or days checking possible leads, Brian said.
In the end, they heeded the advice of police and decided to let officers investigate tips while they focused on raising awareness, but it's been hard to let that go, he said.
“You have to look. Even though the police have said it's a homicide investigation, they can't tell us for sure, but at some point you just have to make different choices, otherwise you'll spend your whole life, every minute of every day, in those dangerous places, those scary places. You can't do that. You have to find a balance.”
Police spokesman Joshua Grella said in an email that the investigation remains active and police continue to receive and follow up on tips.
They believe there are people in the community with information pertinent to the investigation who have not come forward.
Police earlier this year released a recording of a call made from Megan's phone to a local taxi company.
The female voice in the call was not Megan's.
Brian said the family's relationship with police is good. Although they felt things moved slowly at the start, police have processes to follow and many missing people to look for, he noted, adding that Megan's age is also a consideration.
“The awareness, I think, is what's going to bring Megan to us, and it's going to help other people as well.”
Grella's email said a police investigation into a missing person file begins the moment a report is received.
Investigators conduct interviews, follow up on available information and visit places the person frequented or was known to have last been seen.
Police request help from the public when an investigator believes they have thoroughly examined all possible leads and need new information, he wrote.
Brian said Megan was a mother, sister and daughter who made many friends.
He described her as a gentle, giving soul. At family gatherings, children flocked to her.
He calls her the Pied Piper of Grandchildren.
Since her disappearance, the children ask about her and know she's been missing, but don't understand what it means, he said.
Hundreds of people — including family, friends and police — attended a walk on Sept. 19 to raise awareness about Megan's disappearance.
Brian was also a scheduled speaker at the 15th annual Sisters in Spirit Vigil for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls on Monday evening at Saskatoon Civic Square.
Brian said the turnout for the Sept. 19 event was overwhelming.
By the time they left Joe Gallagher Field (named in honour of his father), he estimated there were nearly 500 people, and they picked up more along the walk's route.
“The silence is killing us” was the event's theme.
“If somebody has a piece of information, bring it forward. You have the power to help resolve a lot of pain for a lot of people,” Brian said.
Saskatoon police ask anyone with information to call 306-9758300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800222-8477.