A woman from a local First Nation says she’s still looking for her sister, even though police say she’s no longer considered missing.
Sunnie Francis-Smith says she last had contact with her sister, Starr Smith, in Wagmatcook Jan. 25.
Francis-Smith tells The Hawk family members have been in contact with police, but investigators told them her sister is with Michael O’Neil, her boyfriend, and doesn’t seem to be under duress.
“They have no proof she’s being held against her will, but we feel it’s not a case of if it is against her will- the point is he’s been manipulating her the entire time,” she says. “He seemed like a nice guy- it wasn’t until all this happened that we realized everything he’s been telling us was lies.”
Francis-Smith says they were last seen driving a black Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was stolen from a home where O’Neil was staying in Wagmatcook, in Fredericton Thursday.
She says they haven’t heard from her sister since she left.
“We know that he has sold her cell phone,” she says. “I was talking with the liquidator, and he confirmed that it was (O’Neil) that came in, and it was the type of phone that (Smith) had that was sold.”
Police issued a release to say Smith was missing and they were concerned for her safety Jan. 26; they issued another release to say she was no longer considered missing Jan. 27, although they didn’t provide any additional information to indicate she was found safe.
When contacted for this latest story, Lisa Croteau, a provincial RCMP spokesperson, would only say they don’t consider this a missing person case.
