EARLY LIFE:
Yvonne Marlene Abigosis was born on November 23, 1957 to Frank Abigosis and Vitaline Campbell. The eighth of 14 children, she was raised as part of the Pine Creek First Nation, in Manitoba.
Growing up, Marlene suffered the generational struggles that came with Canada’s residential school system. Operated by the Canadian government and run by the Christian church, these institutions were intended to “assimilate” Indigenous children into Canadian society by taking them away from their families and forcing them to live in boarding schools, where they were often mistreated, abused and deprived of their basic human rights.
Her father had suffered trauma while in the system, which led him to pass on the violence and abuse he experienced to his children and wife. When Marlene and her siblings were young, they, too, were taken from their family and forced to live in residential schools. To cope, many of them turned to alcohol and drugs, including Marlene.
According to her older sister, Valerie, half of the siblings eventually died due to alcohol and drug-related health issues. While Valerie was able to get clean through the help of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Marlene struggled to cope with what she’d experienced at the residential schools. She found herself living in Vancouver, British Columbia’s notorious Downtown Eastside, known for its high rates of drug abuse, homelessness, sex work and mental illness.
Marlene was among those living a high-risk lifestyle in the West Coast city. She worked near the docks, and some of her clients would sometimes take her on trips aboard their boats to Vancouver Island and Washington State. However, no matter what she was dealing with, Marlene always checked in with her family, to let them know where she was.
DISAPPEARANCE:
The date of Marlene’s disappearance varies, depending on the source. The Vancouver Police Department claims officers last saw her in the Downtown Eastside on March 27, 1984, while various online sources say she’s been missing since January 1 of that year.
Valerie reports that her sister has been missing since December 1983. She says Marlene called her around Christmas to say she was unhappy living in Vancouver and was planning to move to Calgary, Alberta. The route would have taken her past Revelstoke, British Columbia, where Valerie lived, so the elder sister expected to see Marlene at some point. However, she never showed up.
Concerned about Marlene’s wellbeing, Valerie made repeated attempts to report her sister as missing to authorities. While she says police were initially interested in the case, she claims that changed the minute she mentioned Marlene had been living in the Downtown Eastside.
INVESTIGATION:
Despite Valerie’s attempts to have Marlene listed as a missing person, it wasn’t until May 2002 that an official report was filed. This was around the time Robert Pickton was arrested on suspicion of murdering numerous women, a large portion from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Following his arrest, investigators launched a search of his pig farm, which turned up the bodies of several women. Despite confessing to 49 murders and being charged with 26, Pickton was only convicted on six counts of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole for 25 years – the longest possible sentence under Canada’s criminal justice system.
Believing Marlene may have been one of the women found on Pickton’s property, officers visited Valerie’s property to collect DNA. However, no matches were made.
According to Valerie, an RCMP officer called her a few years ago to report that Marlene’s case had been closed, without any resolution.
DETAILS:
Yvonne Marlene Abigosis went by the names “Darlene Richards”, “Marlene Yvonne Abigeois”, “Clara Ross” and “Darlene Campbell”. Her sister last heard from her in the winter of 1983-84, meaning she would have been 26 years old at the time she disappeared.
Marlene is described as Indigenous, with a ruddy complexion. She had a thin build, standing at 5’6″ and weighing between 119 and 120 pounds. She had curly, shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
Marlene’s disappearance is classified as endangered missing, with it suspected she was victim of a homicide.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact the Vancouver Police Department at either (604) 717-2530 or +1 (877) 687-3377. Tips can also be called in anonymously via Crime Stoppers a +1 (800) 222-8477.
Image Credit: RCMP
Stories of the Unsolved 