More than a year after daughter's death in Thunder Bay, Ont., family seeks answers from SIU, police

Jenna Ostberg's family has been waiting more than a year for Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to release its report on the circumstances surrounding her death.

The 21-year-old member of Bearskin Lake First Nation died in Thunder Bay on Dec. 30, 2023. It took three calls to 911 before police responded to the residence on Ray Boulevard where she was found dead, according to the SIU.

"The case remains under the director's review," said Kristy Denette, a spokesperson for the SIU, in an email to CBC News on Thursday. "When there is a decision, a news release will be issued."

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of police that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

"We're tired," said Melanie Beardy, Jenna's mother. "Every Sunday night I would say, 'maybe this coming week is the week we hear from somebody, you know?' Then the next Sunday comes and I'll say it again."

The day Jenna died, the first call to police was made around 2 a.m. ET, but police did not respond. They received a second call to cancel the first call for service. The third 911 call received by police said the woman had died, according to the SIU.

The initial 911 call made "was not in relation to violence in the home involving the woman," the SIU has confirmed.

As for the Thunder Bay Police Service's own investigation, a spokesperson told CBC News that the force cannot speak to the case until the SIU's process is complete. 

"The Thunder Bay Police Service worked in close collaboration with the coroner's office on this investigation. Due to an ongoing Special Investigations Unit investigation, the Thunder Bay Police Service cannot comment further at this time," said spokesperson Matt Vis in an email Thursday.

Meanwhile, Ontario's inspector general of policing is evaluating how the Thunder Bay Police Service conducts death and missing-person investigations following several complaints made – including from Jenna's family – about how recent cases have been handled.

"The grief has been hard because we have had no closure," said Vincent Ostberg, Jenna's father. "The Thunder Bay Police and the SIU have not given us any closure at all."

The SIU aims to complete its investigations within 120 days. According to its 2023-2024 report, it met this target in 89.3 per cent of cases.

The status of all SIU cases can be found on the unit's website.

It takes SIU investigators the longest to respond to incidents in northern Ontario, the latest annual report says, at an average of six hours and four minutes.