EARLY LIFE:
Sunshine Wood was born on April 6, 1987. Raised by her father, Anthony; her grandfather; and her great-grandfather from the age of 10, she grew up on the Manto Siri Cree Nation in northern Manitoba with her two older brothers and two younger sisters. She also spent six months in foster care for undisclosed reasons.
Adored by her family, especially her brothers, Sunshine lived a relatively normal life. She was bubbly and outgoing, with a tendency to make friends rather easily. She also loved to laugh and didn’t partake in the negative behaviours some of the other teenagers in her community did.
Hoping to become a nurse, Sunshine moved to Winnipeg when she was 16 and enrolled at Gordon Bell High School. It was a major change, moving from a remote community of just a few hundred people to a large metropolitan area. She initially stayed with her uncle, but later moved in with a woman named Priscilla. Anthony wasn’t sure how Sunshine met the woman, as she didn’t disclose this information in their daily phone calls.
Sunshine loved the social aspect of being in a big city and was known for her street smarts. However, Anthony began to notice a difference in his daughter. She started skipping school, and while she’d not previously touched alcohol began drinking regularly. Concerned for her wellbeing, Anthony tried to convince Sunshine to move back home, but he was unsuccessful.
DISAPPEARANCE:
On the morning of February 20, 2004, Anthony called his daughter to confirm their plans for the following day. He also stopped by to give her some money.
Sunshine was last seen that night in front of the former St. Regis Hotel at 285 Smith Street, near Portage Avenue. She and a group of friends had decided to spend the night downtown, and they spent time at the hotel’s bar.
The last known surveillance images of Sunshine were timestamped 11:45PM that night. In them, she’s seen holding the door open in the lobby for two unknown males, before going outside to have a cigarette. What happened after that is unknown.
While some sources say Anthony learned of Sunshine’s disappearance the following day, it’s since been clarified that he wasn’t made aware until February 26. He subsequently reported his daughter missing to the Winnipeg Police Service.
INVESTIGATION:
Sunshine’s case hardly received media attention, despite the Winnipeg Police Service saying her disappearance was out-of-character. To help get the word out, Child Find Manitoba teamed up with the Wood family to put up posters and collect tips from the public.
Investigators interviewed the man in the surveillance footage from the St. Regis Hotel and have since stated that they don’t believe him to have any connection to the case.
In 2009, a tip was called in that claimed Sunshine was alive and well outside of Manitoba. However, this information was never confirmed.
Project Devote, a joint RCMP-Winnipeg Police Service task force dedicated to looking into the cases of Manitoba’s missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG), took over the investigation in 2012. It ran for eight years, with the latter starting its own model in 2020 that “has community-based focus, incorporating grassroots organizations.” No updates were provided as to how this would impact the investigation into Sunshine’s disappearance.
DETAILS:
Sunshine April Hilda “Sunny” Wood went missing from the St. Regis Hotel in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba on the evening of February 20, 2004. She was just 16 years old at the time.
Sunshine is described as having a heavy build, standing between 5’6″ and 5’7″ and weighing 220 pounds. She had shoulder-length, straight dark brown/black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a dark grey Exco sweatshirt, blue jeans and black boots.
Sunshine has a number of distinguishable features, including the following tattoos: “SW” on her left hand, the letter “L” on her left index finger, “Sunny” on her left forearm, the letter “B” on her left thumb, “Destiny” and a heart on her right forearm, and “II” on her left middle finger. She also has numerous cigarette burn marks on her left forearm.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
While characterized as an ongoing missing persons case, Sunshine’s disappearance is being investigated as a homicide.
Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact the Winnipeg Police Service at either (204) 986-6250 or (204) 986-6060. Tips can also be submitted anonymously via Crime Stoppers at (204) 786-8477 or +1 (800) 222-8477.
Image Credit: MissingKids.ca/CBC
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