Saskatoon police deploying plane to expand search for missing woman, child

Saskatoon police will deploy a plane to help search for an Indigenous leader and her child,who have not been seen since Friday evening.

Dawn Walker, who is well known in the Indigenous and literary communities, was last seen on Friday evening at a business on the 300 block of Owen Manor.She may be with her child, according to police.

She is described asfive feetsix inchestall with a medium build, blond hair and brown eyes. Her child is four feet two inchestall, with a slim build, brown hair and brown eyes.

Walker, also known as Dawn Dumont Walker, is the executive operating officerof the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) and is a well-known author.She also ran for the federal Liberal Party in Saskatoon in 2021.

"She's a Treaty Four member, she's a First Nation mother, she's been an advocate for all sectors of the federation and she's been our chief of staff for almost a decade now," FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said at a Monday news conference. "Dawn is the quarterback of the FSIN."

On Monday morning at about 9 a.m., police found a red Ford F-150 pickup truck belonging to Walker at Chief WhitecapPark, just south of Saskatoon. Some of her personal items were found nearby, but there were no traces of her or her child.

As well, Saskatoon police say, someone had discovered Walker's purse near the area on Saturday morning and had turned it in to police.

Police say Walker has not been in contact with friends or family which is out of character.

The FSINput out a news release early Monday morning, stating they believe Walker is "significantly at risk."

Saskatoon police say they planto deploy a plane to search the area around the dog park, including the river, and are asking thepublic to avoid the area so they don't get in the way of the search.

"Our thoughts too are with the family of Dawn," said deputy police Chief Randy Huisman. "We remain with hope that we'll have a positive outcome here."

Despite the missing child's age, Saskatoon police say the case does not currently meet its standards to trigger an Amber Alert.

However, the FSIN launched its own unofficial Amber Alert in an attempt to find the family.

"Within First Nation country, when we know that there's no communication with parents, friends, family, you know something is wrong," Cameron said. "We know with our gut instinct and our heart, something is wrong."

Anyone with information dealing with the whereabouts of either Walker or her child is asked to contact the Saskatoon Police Service at 306-975-8300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.