By: Shane Lambert Original time of writing: February 3rd, 2025
The Fifth Estate, the legendary Canadian television show, published an interesting episode on YouTube not too long ago on the topic of missing people. Titled "Why are people vanishing in Dawson Creek, BC?" the episode was uploaded to YouTube on October 11th, 2024.
It covers a spat of crime, which includes seemingly clandestine disappearances, in the small city (big town?) of Dawson Creek, British Columbia. The related stories have made the news in online media as well (related CBC news coverage).
The Fifth Estate: Missing People in Dawson Creek, BC
The documentary-style television program touches on a range of issues related to missing people. In the case of Dawson Creek, there was the suggestion that the town's spike in economic activity was a factor in the increase in crime in the area.
I had a lot of thoughts on this. Firstly, I don't think that a strong economy necessarily increases crime. I think impoverished communities have tons of crimes occurring, crimes that simply never enter official statistics.
Along these lines, I do think a strong economy could lead to better detection of crime in that same community. Mainly, I think if an area sees an improved economy, there will then be increased budgets for policing in the area, as taxation fuels these services.
But I also think that the bigger the 'clean' economy is then the bigger the local black market is. From this perspective, you could see how crimes related to illicit activities would increase in correlation to the strength of the local economy.
What has reportedly happened, as told by The Fifth Estate, is that Dawson Creek has seen economic growth due to the oil and gas industry. This has spawned a "deadly turf war over drugs" which has led to murders, missing people, police investigations (or lack thereof), vigilantism, and public outcry.
I didn't mind this episode and liked that it connected economic growth to violence. It's a reminder that money isn't everything and that Canada is a society overrun with social problems that even people who are gainfully employed are affected by.
I felt that the police got off a little easy in the episode. I also thought that they could have explored the notions of "worthy" and "unworthy" victims a bit more. It seems that some members of Canadian society are more likely to have their missing person cases examined than others. This need not come down to issues of race or class in all cases: I think if you are hanging around with clandestine individuals, then you will be lower on the priority list if you go missing than someone who avoids a high-risk lifestyle.
But I do think the episode is worth watching. You should be able to glean a lot of risk factors about missing people and what happens in the aftermath. It is embedded below with an exit link here if the embedding should glitch or fail in the future: exits to YouTube's channel for The Fifth Estate.
Details from a government source (might be paraphrased): Juanita Migwans was last seen on October 4th, 2024, on Riverside Drive in the First Nation of M'Chigeeng, Ontario. She did not have her cell phone or bank card. Some sources have said she "lost" them, which would imply accidental misplacing. The last banking activity was on September 25th, 2024. Her family and friends are concerned for her well-being as she hasn't been heard from.
Last contact: October 4th, 2024 (Friday)
Last location: M'Chigeeng First Nation, Ontario, on Manitoulin Island
Age when Juanita Migwans disappeared: 30
Sex: Female
Height in inches: 66
Weight in pounds (lbs): 110 lbs, described as thin or slender, and looks petite in her photos. She would be underweight by BMI standards.
Ethnicity: Indigenous. Pale to slightly swarthy appearance in photos.
Hair color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Scar or distinctive characteristic: Tattoos (1) Left Foot, A bird carrying a ribbon with text "THIS TOO SHALL PASS" (2) Left Ankle, A heart.
Link to Government Source: 2024054239 (right click to open)
Websleuths discussion page: Juanita Migwans (right click to open)
Original time of writing: January 31st, 2025, updates in March 2025
Please note, this is a case with evolving details. As for information accuracy, the only guarantee is that I will try my best, source, and revisit with updates from time-to-time.
Has Juanita Migwans been found?
Juanita Migwans went missing on October 4th, 2024. As of March 24th, 2025, she remains missing.
In recent news at the time of writing, there was a significant reward related to her case. According to a recent CTV News article, "The Ontario Government is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the disappearance of Juanita Migwans as United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin Police Service Commission (UCCM Police) Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) continue their search efforts."
The way the above quotation reads, it sounds as though foul play is suspected. In a more official statement, the police said foul play was not ruled out.
Juanita Migwans went missing from an Indian reserve on Manitoulin Island. This island stands out as the largest island in the world that is in a lake (Lake Huron).
She was last seen on Riverside Drive on the reserve. This is a short segment of roadway. It's not clear what time of day she was last seen or which direction she was heading by the news coverage.
What stands out in this case, is she did not have a phone, bank card, or ID with her when she disappeared. This has some implications. For instance, it would imply that she was not planning on leaving Manitoulin Island. She has not done any banking transactions since September 25th, 2024, which was nine days before her last sighting.
Furthermore, according to news in late March 2025, this individual has uncollected money. This latter point would be ominous based on several other cases involving uncollected money.
There was a previous sighting of her that has been reported in some sources. Some early sources back in November state that she was last seen on October 2nd, 2024 at 10:30am at the intersection of Highway 551 and Oakhill Drive. The latter citing, of October 4th, has been described as a phone call in some sources. I
There is a social media source that states that she was involved in a court case.
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Juanita Migwans Case Update: March 19th, 2025 Developments
As of March 19th, 2025, Juanita "Winnie" Migwans remains missing, but her case has gained significant traction. An update from The Manitoulin Expositor (Jacqueline St.Pierre), reveals that a community-driven billboard campaign was launched to keep her disappearance in the spotlight.
The first billboard went up on Highway 17 on March 14th, 2025, costing $3,500, with a $100,000 reward now offered. This doubled the $50,000 noted earlier. This escalation underscores rising urgency six months after she vanished from M’Chigeeng First Nation on October 4th, 2024.
The March 19th update also ties Juanita’s case to the broader Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) crisis. "Missing and murdered aboriginal women" is a tag I use on my blog (which you are looking at right now). You can click the tag if you are interested in other cases involving missing Aboriginal women in Canada.
Credit to St.Pierre and The Manitoulin Expositor for illuminating the billboard effort.
Juanita Migwans Case Update: March 24th, 2025 Developments
As of today, March 24th, 2025, Juanita "Winnie" Migwans remains missing nearly six months after her disappearance on October 4th, 2024. A recent article by Kenneth Armstrong at SooToday.com provides new details on the ongoing efforts to find her. Here’s what’s happening:
Her family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for three additional billboards—planned for Hwy. 17 between Espanola and Sault Ste. Marie, between Espanola and Sudbury, and Hwy. 69 north of Parry Sound—building on an existing billboard on Manitoulin Island. As of late March 24th, this campaign had raised $5822. Please consider supporting it, noting that even small donations from a lot of people can help them achieve their goals.
The article from Kenneth Amstrong says that funds from a Robinson-Huron Treaty settlement remain untouched. I will comment on this shortly.
Despite exhaustive searches by Tribal Police and the OPP, no leads have surfaced, prompting volunteer Peggy Simon to speculate about foul play or sex trafficking.
Migwans’ case continues to rally her community, who hope the expanded billboard campaign will yield answers.
I have been writing about missing person mysteries for a decade now with research on numerous cases. Uncollected money is often a major flag. In some cases in the past, I know police have considered substantial amounts of uncollected money to strongly suggest that a missing person is deceased.
Migwans' case was serious from the start but that she did not collect her treaty money, as reported in the Armstrong article, is very convincing to me that this is not a voluntary disappearance. I don't think many people are looking at this mystery feeling like she was missing voluntarily but her failure to collect the treaty money should put to bed any notion of a voluntary disappearance.
From what I gathered, the reserve won a settlement and there have been incremental payments made to band members over time. It must be one of these incremental payments that she did not collect.
The "uncollected money" circumstance is one I am trying to build on at my blog. The current posts associated with this theme can be found here.
GoFundMe Campaign Aims to Raise Funds for Awareness
The GoFundMe campaign, titled "Bring Juanita (Winnie) Home - awareness through billboards," organized by Mary-Ann Ashcroft, has raised $5,822 of its $15,000 goal as of the latest update.
This effort underscores the community's determination to keep Juanita's story visible while seeking answers to her disappearance. Furthermore, the diversity of the donors shows that there is a broader concern for her well-being.
Fabian Del Rosario was last seen in the area of 30th St. & Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, on August 28, 1987, at 7:00PM. He dropped a friend off near that location and was suppose to pick-up his girlfriend when she got off work at 7:30PM. Fabian never showed up at his girlfriend's work and has not been seen or heard from since.
At the time of his disappearance, Fabian was driving a brown Datsun 280ZX. In the early morning hours of August 31, 1987, a patrol officer located Fabian's vehicle in the parking lot of Crossroads Mall near 30th St. & Walnut in Boulder, Colorado.
Missing Person: Fabian Del Rosario
Last-seen date: August 28th, 1987 at about 3pm Last-contact date: August 28th, 1987 at just after 6pm (phone call) The area where the MP was last seen: Boulder, Colorado Link to government source: NamUs #MP7847
VITAL DETAILS
Ethnicity: Hispanic/White Sex: Male Age at time of disappearance: 20 years old Birthdate: July 6th, 1967 (source: CharleyProject) Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown Scar: None indicated Height/weight: 5-foot-11 and 165 pounds BMI*: Fabian Del Rosario was in the normal range for BMI.
Please, Google-search BMI if you aren't familiar with the phrase. I think it's an important tool to be aware of when working on missing person cases.
Fabian Del Rosario, a missing person, was last heard from on August 28th, 1987 when he was 20 years old. He dropped his girlfriend off where she worked at about 3pm that day, phoned her at 6pm, but failed to pick her up at 7:30pm. That phone call was the last communication from Fabian while the 3pm drop-off time was the last sighting.
This individual has now been missing for 34 years as of the original publication date of this blog post. Looking at his profile, there is not a lot to go on when it comes to distinctive characteristics. However, this appears to be a case that the authorities are very interested in solving.
Del Rosario, at the time of writing, had been excluded as a match to 26 John Does in the NamUs database of unidentified decedents. That is a high number of match attempts. I noted that 19 of these attempted matches were of John Does that were found in the state of Virginia. I wondered why such a high number of matches were attempted for that state when this missing person was last seen in Colorado. Colorado and Virginia are not close to one another. I've half-assumed that the authorities may have reason to believe that he somehow ended up in Virginia but found nothing on that matter in the sparse journalistic coverage.
What stands out with this case, is the evidence in Fabian's found vehicle that suggests that he was injured or even murdered. The NamUs description indicates that his vehicle was found on August 31st, 1987 in the parking lot of a shopping center.
What the NamUs description doesn't mention is what was stated in one of only two newspapers article I found that covered this disappearance. Del Rosario's family was of the Miami area and The Miami News reported on September 8th, 1987 that the car was "blood-stained":
The missing person did not have any articles or items associated with his missing person's reports. However, from the article above we can see that he is at least "believed to have been wearing a white dress shirt, tan shorts, white tennis shoes and white socks." These are items that can be searched for in the NamUs database of John Does. You would also want to cross-reference any potential matches with other case details.
The article above, from September 10th, 1987, shows that the authorities questioned Del Rosario's girlfriend on the matter of drugs being involved. According to CharleyProject, they had reason to believe that they were:
Authorities stated their investigation revealed he was possibly involved in drug distribution, moving cocaine from Miami to Colorado, but it's unclear whether drugs were a factor in his case.
If you want to read a related article at this site, then please click the hashtag below that interests you.
Author: Shane Lambert, (Freelance Writer)
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.
Shane Lambert, (Freelance Writer) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.
Website hashtag: #MPCSL
*For BMI values, I use the UPPER or HIGHER ranges that are given for height and weight. **Text might be paraphrased. If taken verbatim, then grammar or spelling errors are not necessarily corrected from original sources. Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing person's case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.
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