Murder investigation launched, vigil planned after missing woman found dead in Nanaimo
Nanaimo RCMP say a homicide investigation is underway after a missing woman was found dead in the downtown area earlier this month.
The body of Amy Watts, 27, was discovered in a small wooded area near the intersection of Albert Street and Victoria Crescent in downtown Nanaimo on June 3.
Watts was reported missing by family members on May 27, before her body was discovered roughly one week later.
Now, Mounties say that the Nanaimo RCMP serious crime unit has taken charge of the investigation.
Police say no arrests have been made yet, but officers are "fully engaged and are actively pursuing all investigative steps," according to Const. Gary O'Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.
"This has been a difficult journey," Watts' mother, Janice Coady, told CTV News on Wednesday.
"She was my only child. We've had a long and beautiful road through this together," she said.
Friends of the Watts family have planned a candlelight vigil at the parking lot of Nanaimo City Hall on Wednesday evening.
The vigil is planned for 8:30 p.m. and attendees are asked to wear masks and bring their own candles in cups or other mementos.
Watt's mother has travelled to Nanaimo from Prince Edward Island to attend the vigil and bring her daughter's belongings home.
"On behalf of Amy’s mother, Janice Coady, family, friends, and loved ones, it is with my deepest regret, and honor, to invite anyone and everyone in the community of Nanaimo to join them in a candlelight vigil to honor, grieve, and bring love to their beloved Amy," wrote organizer Dee Vickberg in a social media post Monday.
"To respect city hall and the neighbouring vicinity we will have to remove all flowers left within a day," Vickberg added. "If you leave trinkets or stuffed animals they will have to be removed, and will be gifted to Amy’s beautiful mother, Janice."
Organizers say a microphone will also be at the vigil if anyone wishes to share stories, and Vickberg encourages any musicians to play if they would like to.
Former Nanaimo councillor Gord Fuller says he knew Watts well and that the pair worked together on homeless outreach programs in 2015 and 2016.
Fuller says she was also an Indigenous youth outreach worker who worked with the Nanaimo Youth Services Association.
"She was a promising young girl and the system failed her," Fuller said Wednesday.
He says that Watts struggled with mental health and addictions challenges, and even though she was in treatment several times, she fell through the cracks of the public support system.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.