A mom from the Kikino Métis Settlement is hoping a public plea through local media can help to locate her son and the vehicle he was last seen with.
Laura Cardinal says her son Jeremy Collins was last seen on April 11. She says the 34-year-old father of two had been driving her mom's 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe SUV. The vehicle is light grey in colour.
She said many residents from the Kikino community have been combing the area looking for Jeremy and the vehicle over the last two weeks. She said there were reports of a vehicle matching the description seen being driven across farmland near Kikino shortly after he was last seen, but she said it wasn't believed to be her son behind the wheel.
A stolen vehicle report, she says, has been filed with police.
Police in Kikino
Over the last two weeks there has been a large police presence in the Kikino and Goodfish Lake areas, about 60 kilometres south of Lac La Biche. At the same time Cardinal has been looking for Jeremy, police have issued news releases and arrest details about several break and enters, and thefts linked to the area.
An April 23 RCMP statement said three people were still on the run after reported break-ins at rural properties south of Gooffish Lake that took place on April 22. Police say they have arrested one man, 21-year-old Philip Hope of Saddle Lake in connection to that file. Just days before, on April 16, a missing person file on 26-year-old Kikino resident Amber Hope was issued by police.
Cardinal said that although she has been speaking with police, she can't say at this time whether or not her search for Jeremy and the SUV is related to other activities in the area. She just wants to find him.
"He's never, ever gone anywhere without telling us where he's at or what he's doing," Cardinal said, describing him as a person who "always helps people whenever he can."
The worried mom has already issued her own requests for help on Kikino social media group pages, and now hopes that sending her request out to the larger, local community will help provide fresh information and assistance in the search.
"Our small community, whether it's Lac La Biche, Kikino — everybody knows everybody, or is related in some way. Somebody might have seen something," she told Lakeland This Week, adding that crime in the region needs to be addressed, and people working together can help reduce recent spikes in criminal activity. "This is our community, and I've lived here all my life in Kikino and Lac La Biche... I love my home, I love where I live. We need to keep our communities safe."
Anyone with information about Jeremy or the 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe should call the Lac La Biche RCMP detachment at 780-623-4380 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
