100 Murder Cases

Highway of Tears

The Highway of Tears is a 450 mile stretch of road on Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert in British Columbia, Canada. Between 1969 and 2011, as many as 40 women have either been murdered or are missing and presumed dead on this road. Although police officially place the number of deaths at 19, aboriginal organizations say the number is well over 40 because a large number of women disappeared some distance from the highway, but they believe the homicides are connected.

The first known victim is 26-year-old Glenda Moody who was last seen leaving a bar in Williams Lake on October 25, 1969. Her body was discovered 10 kilometers away at a cattle ranch. The last probable victim is 20-year-old Madison Scott who disappeared at Hogback Lake on May 28, 2011; she has never been found.

Dozens of Canadian women, mostly indigenous, have vanished or were murdered on Highway 16 during the 42-year reign of terror and investigators aren't sure if the killer or killers are finished yet. The age range of the victims is 12-33 years, although most of them were teenagers. The Highway of Tears is indicative of the violence perpetrated against indigenous women in Canada. Estimates suggest some 4,000 aboriginal women have either died or disappeared in the country over the last 30 years.

Given the vast time scale, there is definitely more than one murderer. Serial killer Cody Legebokoff was tried and convicted of four homicides, including that of Highway of Tears victim Loren Leslie, who he killed in 2011. Another serial killer, Bobby Jack Fowler, was a prime suspect for at least three of the Highway of Tears murders (Gale Weys and Pamela Darlington in 1973, and Colleen McMillan in 1974). He almost certainly killed McMillan, as forensic testing in 2012 confirmed his DNA on her body. Fowler could be responsible for at least 10 of the homicides; he probably started killing around 1973, but couldn't have committed any of the crimes after 1996 because he was in prison.

Indigenous women believe that the police aren't doing enough to protect them. British Columbia has a history of serial killers that prey on indigenous women, including David Ramsay and Robert William Pickton. Given the vast size of this stretch of road, the remoteness of the area, and the apparent police inaction when indigenous women are the victims, it seems that further Highway of Tears slayings are likely.