The Highway of Tears
For over fifty years, one stretch of highway in Canada has gained itself a terrible reputation as the hunting ground for more than one serial killer. Between sixteen and forty women, many of them First Nations women, have either disappeared or been murdered on what would come to be known as The Highway of Tears.
More commonly known as Highway 16, this desolate 725-kilometre corridor between Prince George and Prince Rupert, British Columbia has seen a staggering number of victims over these last five decades, leading investigators to believe that more than one predator is at work here.
As a lot of the victims have been indigenous women, many locals believe that racism may be a driving motivation in the killings and the distinct lack of progress by the authorities. Those authorities have none the less been baffled by the numbers involved, whether that be victims or perpetrators.
In 2005 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police created Project E-Pana to try and solve the murders along The Highway of Tears. American killer Bobby Jack Fowler’s DNA was found on the body of one of the highways victims, Colleen MacMillen but the RCMP have long suspected him for being responsible for killing anywhere from 10 to 20 of the victims.
In 2014 Canadian serial killer, Cody Legebokoff, one of Canada’s youngest serial killers, was convicted of the murder of 15-year-old , Loren Donn Leslie. She had been listed as one of the Highway of Tears victims.
Despite the successful conviction of Legebokoff for a single murder, no other suspects have been charged in any of the cases related to this highway of death and as it stands, it looks unlikely that any other killers will be brought to justice.
