20 years after disappearance, search for Tamra Keepness continues

Twenty years ago, the disappearance of five-year-old Tamra Keepness shook the city of Regina.

She was last seen around 10:30 p.m. on July 5, 2004, at her home on the 1800 block of Ottawa Street, and was reported missing the next day.

Despite thousands of hours of work by investigators, hundreds of interviews and a $50,000 reward, she has not been seen since. 

Tamra was last seen sleeping in her room at the home where her family was living. Her disappearance led to the largest search effort in Regina's history.

On Friday, communities gathered in a Regina park for the annual barbecue held to honour Tamra Keepness and remind people that her case is still open.

As Ivy Kennedy sat at a picnic table and chatted with other grandmothers, she reflected on her memories from 20 years ago, when Tamra disappeared.

Kennedy is the founder and director of Women of the Dawn Counselling Centre. The Keepness family came to her organization for help, but at the time, they didn't have any services to offer, she said.

So Kennedy went to Edmonton, where there was a task force for missing and murdered Indigenous women and children. When she got back to Saskatchewan, she shared what she learned in the hope that the province could offer something similar.

"We lobbied the provincial government in Saskatchewan to get a task force for missing and murdered women and children," Kennedy said. Those efforts were successful, she added.

Kennedy says events like the barbecue are vital for the community, so they know the search is ongoing.

"It's so sad to think about that time," Kennedy said. "She would have been 25 today. Tamra would have been involved with the community, because a lot of her family is involved with Women of the Dawn and other agencies.

"So it's hard to think about what has happened to our children, but Tamra is one of those young ladies we'll never forget, as a community."

Chastity Delorme is a community advocate from Cowessess First Nation who lives in Regina.

After Tamra's disappearance, she said, she saw people out on the street looking for the child and flags tied around trees to mark where they had searched.