Who killed Sonya Cywink? 30 years on, her sister is still hopeful justice will come

It was 30 years ago Monday when Sonya Nadine Cywink was last seen.

The time was 2 a.m., near Dundas and Lyle streets in London, Ont.

Four days later, the 31-year-old mother-to-be was found dead in Southwold Township.

Three decades on, few other details have been made public by Ontario Provincial Police in the case, and closure remains elusive for Sonya's family.

Sonya's sister, Meggie Cywink, still hasn't given up hope those responsible will be found, because someone out there knows something, and people are bound to talk sometime.

"Thirty years in… I think there is some sense of compassion and empathy toward my sister's life, the loss of her life and her unborn baby," Cywink told CBC News.

"People, especially women, are starting to talk. I've developed trusting relationships with women over the past six years, and I think there's some truth starting to happen. I'm feeling very hopeful."

On Friday morning, Sonya's loved ones will gather where her body was found to honour her life, the lives of other missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and trans and two-spirited people.

Community teach-ins focusing on violence prevention are also being held at N'Amerind Friendship Centre this week, said Maggie, who is hosting one of them.

It's this kind of outreach she says has helped her heal, and turn tragedy into something positive.

"Instead of dwelling on the fact we don't have answers, this is a way to help other women stay safe."

Originally from Whitefish First Nation near Sudbury, Sonya was the second-youngest of 13 siblings, and was 24-weeks pregnant when she died.

When her body was discovered on Aug. 30, 1994 at the Southwold Earthworks, a historic former First Nation settlement southwest of London, police said her body showed signs of blunt force trauma.

In 2019, Cywink told CBC News her sister had been living with a roommate in east London, but wasn't close to other siblings living in the area.