For nearly three years, the family of Gloria Gladue had been holding out hope she would be found alive.
“Hope is what kept us going. I never wanted to accept this outcome; I never even though it would happen. I honestly thought we were going to get her back,” her daughter, Nicole Gladue-Wessemat, said.
The mother of seven was 44 when she was last seen entering a home in the Wabasca area on October 10, 2015.
RCMP recovered her remains on June 17, 2018 in rural Manitoba.
“They found my mother, not the way we wanted to,” Gladue-Wessemat said.
“As a big sister, calling your siblings one by one and breaking their hearts. It was devastating hearing them cry over the phone.”
Manitoba man charged in her death
Grant Arthur Sneesby, 68, of Gladstone, Manitoba has been charged in connection to Gladue’s murder.
Sneesby was arrested in Edmonton on Wednesday afternoon.
He is charged with second-degree murder and causing indignity to human remains.
Gladue-Wessemat said she had never heard of Sneesby’s name until he was charged.
“Did he kidnap her? We don’t know. We have so many questions.”
She said she was told by police that her mother and the suspect were acquaintances. But she said her mother had never mentioned his name.
“It’s another native woman killed by a white guy and it just shows what Canada needs to do, what our justice system needs to do and how people need to take this seriously.”
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Inquiry
Gladue-Wessemat had been attending events to draw attention to missing and murdered Indigenous women.
The family had hoped the inquiry would result in more support for Indigenous women and prevent future tragedies.
“Every life matters and it feels like nobody cares about these native women and girls that are going missing or getting murdered,” she said.
She said she will continue to be her mother’s advocate and attend Sneesby’s court hearings.
He is scheduled to appear in Desmarais Provincial Court on July 12.
