Highway of Tears Symposium, 2006

500 gather at 'highway of tears' symposium

Last Updated: Friday, March 31, 2006 | 8:08 AM ET

CBC News

About 500 people gathered at an emotional public meeting in Prince George to discuss the fates of nine young women, most of them young and aboriginal, who have vanished or turned up dead on Highway 16 since 1990.

The 800-kilometre stretch of road from Prince George to Prince Rupert has become known as the "highway of tears."

The symposium, organized by the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, included families of the women, RCMP officials, B.C.'s solicitor general, social workers and First Nations leaders.

Police say there's no evidence to suggest the cases are linked, so they don't believe there's a serial killer at work.

But some First Nations leaders think the fact that many of the victims are aboriginal should play a larger part in the investigation.

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