'I beg you': Family of Amber Tuccaro renews plea for help to find her killer

It's been nearly 13 years since 20-year-old Amber Tuccaro disappeared from the Edmonton area, but her family has never stopped fighting for justice in the case.

Tuccaro went missing on Aug. 18, 2010. Her remains were found on Sept. 1, 2012, in a wooded area in Leduc County.

On Thursday, her mother, brothers and two Chiefs supporting them gathered in the Alberta capital to ask for help.

"Some dirty bastard out there stole my baby's life, from her family, from her son," Tootsie Tuccaro said.

"Please come forward if you know something about Amber's killer, what happened that day. Please come forward, I beg you. Please help us."

Through tears, the Tuccaro family claimed racism and RCMP "negligence" both played a role in the case remaining unsolved.

"We are very proud people. People don't give us, they just know us as a drunk, stupid Indian, whatever," Tootsie Tuccaro said.

"But you know what, we're caring, we're loving, we're a community. We come together. We care about each other."

Amber was adopted when she was three days old. Her brother Billy-Joe, now Chief of the Mikisew Cree First Nation, still remembers that day.

"It was probably one of the happiest days of my life, to actually have a sister of our own now. I fell asleep with her in my arms that night," he told reporters.

Before he spoke, Chief Tuccaro offered condolences to the Edmonton Police Service for the deaths of two officers who were shot early Thursday morning.

Tootsie Tuccaro, during a press conference about the homicide of her daughter Amber, on March 16, 2023. (Amanda Anderson/CTV News Edmonton)

'WE WOULD LIKE TO CALL OUT THE RCMP'

In 2020, Alberta RCMP apologized for how it handled Tuccaro's case. A deputy commissioner said it was "not our best work."

That was after a 2018 report found that some RCMP members were either not properly trained or did not adhere to their training.

It also said an entire month passed before police made any effort at the detachment level to investigate her disappearance.

"We would like to call out the RCMP to really step up your game...We want answers. We want to be treated as human beings just like everyone else," Billy-Joe said Thursday.

"Our goal as a family was to not let another Aboriginal person's case, that goes missing, just to be swept under the rug…The days of us just being an inconvenient Indian is over."

RCMP officials were in the room when Tuccaro made those comments.

Assistant Commissioner Trevor Daroux acknowledged the pain of the family and the Indigenous community before offering condolences on behalf of the Mounties.

"There is one person out there responsible for this. And I can tell you this: That we are not stopping. We will do what it takes to bring that person to justice," he said.

He added that "there's people that know things" about the night Tuccaro went missing and he urged them to come forward.

Members of the Tuccaro family, along with Chiefs who are supporting them, at a press conference in Edmonton on March 16, 2023. (Amanda Anderson/CTV News Edmonton)

'LIFE IS PRECIOUS TO US'

Treaty 8 Grand Chief Arthur Noskey cried during the press conference as he spoke about the grief of the Tuccaro family as well as other missing and murdered Indigenous women.

"Life is precious to us as a people. It's always been," he said.

"It's been 13 years and I pray to God that at some point there will be closure."

The Chiefs called on police officers everywhere to take missing persons reports more seriously and to investigate immediately.

"The investigation into Amber's disappearance was mishandled…Her family was not given the support and resources needed to find her," Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Chief Allan Adam said, speaking on behalf of the Athabasca Tribal Council.

"We have all experienced missing and murdered tragedies in our own communities. The years of generational trauma, ignorance, racism and misogyny have left our people vulnerable to violence and injustice."

A follow-up statement from RCMP said the service is "dedicated to resolving unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across our province, and working to bring these women and girls home to their families."

"We are working proactively with Indigenous communities and partners to prevent more of these cases from happening," read a statement sent by Cpl. Gina Slaney.

"We also actively participate in walks, gatherings, conferences and any efforts to bring awareness to this crisis."

 The Tuccaro family referenced a 161-page report on Amber's disappearance and said more information from that will be released in the future.

Anyone with information about the Tuccaro investigation is asked to call RCMP at 1-855-377-7267 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Karyn Mulcahy