Sunday, July 02, 2006
Highway of Tears
Once in a while you open a newspaper and something you didn't expect just freaks you out a little bit. This morning I did just that when I saw a picture of my friend Nicole Hoar, and I realized it's been 4 years since she disappeared on what has been dubbed BC's "Highway of Tears" while hitchiking back to her tree-planting job. Most of us have probably heard about the stretch of road in BC where at least 11 women - perhaps many more - have gone missing in the last 30 years.
Nicole and I weren't the BEST of friends, but we were good pals for a couple of summers. We went on a few hiking trips, sang a few karaoke tunes, and even went on one memorable canoe trip where we dumped the boat. We recovered, and quite excitedly got back to camp to tell our colleagues of the adversity we had conquered, only to find out that while we had been bailing our canoe our camp-mates had come face to face with a rather large black bear. Kind of took the wind out of our sails.
So that was the nature of my relationship with Nicole. Buddies for a couple of summers, and then out of touch until she disappeared. Still out of touch I guess. It's weird when you have a personal connection to a major news story. I wish that the one I have was more of a feel-good than a tragedy.
There is more information on this at www.highwayoftears.ca. And of course, any information on my friend Nicole, or any of the other women lost on that road should be directed to the RCMP or Crimestoppers.
See ya, Nic.
