Family of missing Beecher Bay woman chooses hope

UPDATE added to the article the same day: the search for Raymona Peter, 45, of Scia'new First Nation, ended in loss when Sooke RCMP announced the evening of Oct. 9 that her body had been found; foul play is not suspected. In the original story, Peter's official search had been suspended more than a week earlier; her father Raymond (Rick) Peter, of Cowichan, living on Scia'new First Nation, spoke about her. Raymona had been missing since Sept. 30, 2020, when she left her father's house on foot, reportedly looking for a missing pay-as-you-go cellphone; about ten days before she disappeared she had a mental health crisis and struggled with drug abuse and mental health issues, though the morning she vanished she had received promising news about a rehab facility. The RCMP, Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue, the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, helicopters, dog squads and search teams from across southern Vancouver Island were deployed to find her, searching the reserve, coastline, bush, trails and residential areas; after three days the official search was suspended following unconfirmed sightings of Raymona in Victoria. The Lil' Red Dress Project, a grassroots organization from the Comox Valley supporting families of missing and murdered Indigenous women, launched its first digital campaign for Raymona.