It’s been nearly 12 years since Courtney Struble went missing, but the search for her won’t end until she is found.
Courtney was 13 years old when she vanished on July 9, 2004. She would now be 25. Her disappearance, originally classified as a missing person case, has been treated as a homicide for several years.
Child Find Saskatchewan is among those who haven’t given up hope of finding Courtney.
Sue Ramsay, who is a case manager and a media relations employee for Child Find Saskatchewan, said they haven’t received any tips about Courtney in recent years. But they still want to know what happened to her.
“In previous years, we did have her case registered with us, and with that, we put out posters, we made missing person posters,” said Ramsay. “If the family would like to do searches, we can supply the material for that. We supply support to the family should they wish to come in.”
In Courtney’s case, they have done a lot of work through social media and with Saskatchewan newspapers, placing Courtney’s photo in various papers across the province.
“We put photographs of all our missing persons out at our ID clinics,” said Ramsay.
Child Find will highlight a case when the missing person’s birthday, or the anniversary of their disappearance, approaches. They will make use of social media and other sources to remind people about milestones for a missing child.
“We have large 8 1/2 x 10 photos of all our missing children, so she would be a featured person at any ID clinics that we do,” said Ramsay.
Child Find received some tips about Struble a few years ago through social media, but nothing has come in since that time. They also keep in contact with the investigating officers, and they share any information that comes in.
“They have asked us to supply them with some information that has come in through social media,” said Ramsay.
The agency is always looking for ways to get photos of Courtney and other missing children out there, and any time a family wants to come in, receive support, talk about the case or get new posters, they have that opportunity.
Courtney disappeared in the early morning hours of July 9, 2004, after watching movies with friends at the Estevan Veterinary Clinic west of the city. Her friends offered her a ride home just after midnight, but she decided to walk. Investigators now believe she made it back to Estevan, but she didn’t reach her home and has not been seen since.
There have been numerous searches for her since she went missing nearly 12 years ago, including one in 2014 that utilized technology that wasn’t available to police in 2004. Officers also launched a poster campaign in 2014 in conjunction with the 10-year anniversary of her disappearance, but that didn’t result in Courtney’s body being found, or any arrests taking place.
The RCMP Historical Case Unit – South took over the investigation a few years ago. They could not be reached for comment.
