This YK COLD CASE is the second in a three-part series exploring the disappearance of Angela Meyer.
The first 24 hours of a missing person case are the most crucial but often a blur for the families.
On Nov. 27, 2010, Angela Meyer, 22, stepped outside of her family home for a cigarette and hasn’t been seen since.
Her mother, Kathy, ran to Bruno’s Pizza around the corner, then to Dorset Apartments and back home and made frantic calls to “everyone — family, friends, motels, authorities,” Kathy said.
She then jumped in the car with Angela’s sister Candace and brother Brett and drove the streets calling her name.
Dean, Angela’s father, was driving back from Hay River at the time.
At 5 p.m., Kathy reported Angela missing, confirmed Cpl. Mike Lewis of the Yellowknife RCMP.
Kathy thought she called earlier, but as she said — those hours after Angela went missing was a blur.
Immediately, the police dispatched officers to the Meyer’s home on 54 Street.
“Initial investigators gathered clothing and appearance details and commenced searching for her at various locations around Yellowknife,” Lewis said.
The search for Angela quickly gained momentum — the RCMP were joined by firemen, off-duty officers, bylaw officers and even tourists knocked on doors looking for her.
“Media releases were conducted and Angela’s photo was released to the public in hopes to generate any information on her whereabouts,” said Lewis.
SEE: YK COLD CASE PART 1: What happened to Angela Meyer?
The initial report described Angela as a five-foot-ten Inuk woman weighing around 230 pounds
It was also stated she was wearing a white Helly Hansen coat when she disappeared.
The RCMP received a handful of tips, some claiming they saw the young woman in a disoriented state.
“Angela was believed to have been sighted in the Ptarmigan Road, Con Road, and Con Trailer Park in the afternoon and early evening hours of Saturday, November 27,” said Lewis.
However, “there is no definitive answer to her last known location beyond her own residence,” he added.
In these tips, Angela was wearing a black and red jacket — not her white coat.
At the time of her disappearance, Angela was staying on the psychiatric ward at Stanton Hospital to treat her mental health issues and she still had access to her shared accommodation on Ptarmigan Road.
Kathy is unsure of the exact circumstances but at some point during the investigation, the white coat Angela was wearing was found at her shared apartment.
Her black and red Arctic Winter Games volunteer jacket was missing.
Kathy believes that after Angela left the porch, she stopped by her old apartment and switched jackets.
During one search, a black and red winter coat was located, “but it has not been confirmed that it belonged to Angela,” said Lewis.
In January 2011, the Meyers led another search for Angela across Yellowknife.
“A good number of people we know, good friends, they assisted us. We were overwhelmed with the amount of people concerned with finding Angela,” Kathy said of the 250 volunteers when the family expected 50 or 60.
Again, the search yielded nothing. All that the Meyers have left are theories.
“I’d like to think she just walked off and she had enough. I pray and hope she wasn’t taken forcefully,” said Kathy.
Over the years, people have contacted the Meyers under the guise of being helpful but proved anything but.
A cousin told Kathy a Shaman took Angela. Another woman contacted the family through Facebook to say she had information on the disappearance.
“A psychic — and that’s not to say I didn’t speak to a couple — posted a map on Facebook and said, ‘This is her location,’” Kathy recalled. Even though they knew the psychic was a sham, Dean visited the site.
“And there was nothing there,” said Kathy.
Basically, they are in the same position they were the day Angela disappeared, and running out of avenues to search for her.
“We’ve just put our trust in the RCMP to do what they have to do because that’s what their profession is,” said Kathy. “It’s very hard to be actively active in a cold case when you have to live day to day and life goes on.”
Anyone with information on Angela Meyer’s disappearance, or any open investigation, is asked to contact the NT RCMP Major Crimes Unit at RCMP at 867-669-1111 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Do you know of a YK COLD CASE you’d like us to investigate? Email: anna.james@nnsl.com