Muskego family gets some closure.

SASKATOON 

Daleen Kay Bosse Muskego had been missing since May 18, 2004 until just recently when her remains were found on Aug. 8. At the time of her disappearance Bosse was 25-years old attending her third year at the University of Saskatchewan, living in Saskatoon with her husband and daughter.

Bosse, originally from Onion Lake First Nation, was last seen in downtown Saskatoon in the early hours of the morning at a nightclub on May, 18 2004.

Condolences and support is streaming out to the Muskego family from locals and beyond. FSIN released a press release on Aug. 11 extending their condolences to the Muskego family, for the loss of their daughter.

"Our prayers and thoughts go out to the Muskego family during this difficult time," said FSIN Chief Lawrence Joseph.

Douglas Hales a 30-year old man from White Fox, is being charged with first-degree murder and offering an indignity to a body. The later charge is because he set fire to the body. Hales was in Saskatoon provincial court the morning of August 11, where he was publicly charged. The arrest for the murder of Daleen Kay Bosse Muskego was made on Aug. 10 at 12:05 p.m. in Saskatoon.

"He was always a suspect, he was known to be the last person or what we believed to be the last person to see her the night she disappeared," said Alison Edwards of media relations for the Saskatoon police.

The remains of Bosse were found by the Saskatoon Police Service historical case unit and missing persons task force with the assistance from RCMP. The location is in a secluded clearing just a few kilometres north east of Martinsville.

The Muskego's had left no stone unturned in their effort to find their daughter since 2004, working with the Saskatoon Police Service, hiring a private investigator, organizing a missing person's poster campaign and talking to media.

One of the things the Muskego family did was start a Walk for Missing Sisters--all in an attempt to bring Daleen home to her family.

"The main purpose of the walk is that we dedicated it to my daughter Daleen and we have done that for the past four years now and the other purpose is to raise awareness of the other 500 plus murdered and missing women across Canada," said Pauline Muskego, mother of Daleen.

The Walk for Missing Sisters held in memory of Daleen has been going on for four years every summer. This year was the final year for the walk which starts in Onion Lake and ends in Saskatoon.

"When we do things like annual events, the protocol according to our customs and traditions is only four times. It's generally like that, its not only our band, but it's a universal practice among First Nations people, annual events especially," said Herb Muskego, Daleen's father.

The Walk has been an outlet for grief over the loss of their daughter, a way to keep active and create awareness. First Nation's women are particularly at risk as they are overrepresented in missing women cases.

"It provides awareness to the public, it's a message that they are trying to deliver to end violence against Aboriginal women. It's about awareness so people are aware of the risks for Aboriginal women," said Beverly Jacobs president of the Native Women's Association.

The level of participation this year has exceeded the following years perhaps because this was the last year.

"Over the past four years it started out with maybe 20 or 30 and then it can go up to about 40 or 50, and this year we had 70 people participating with us all through the week, and then when we had the march in Saskatoon from city hall to the University of Saskatchewan, we had about 150 to 200 people," said Pauline.

BY CHEREISE MORRIS

Sage Staff Writer