Missing 14-year-old Port Coquitlam teen found dead in Vancouver

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A missing Indigenous teen who was recently found dead in a Downtown Eastside apartment is being mourned by a Saskatchewan First Nation.

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Noelle (Elli) O’Soup, 14, has been missing for more than a year after leaving her Port Coquitlam home.

On Thursday, Vancouver Police confirmed that O’Soup was one of two people found dead in a room at the Heatley Block, an apartment building on Heatley Avenue and Hastings Street, on May 1.

Solomon Reece-Brass, a councillor of the Key First Nation, said the community is in mourning after hearing of O’Soup’s death.

“Noelle’s life was precious and we all share in the grief felt by her family, our Nation, and the broader Urban Indigenous community,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

He called for systemic change as “too many of our women and children are allowed to ‘fall through the cracks.’”

He said the Nation will work to ensure that O’Soup gets justice.

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The cause of O’Soup’s death is not yet known, said police. The identity of the second person in the apartment has not been released.

A third person — a man in his 40s — had also died in the same apartment. His body was discovered on Feb. 23. It is not known if there is any connection between the three people or the deaths.

O’Soup left her Port Coquitlam home without permission on May 12, 2021, said RCMP.

At the time, police said O’Soup was known to frequent the Vancouver area, and may have been avoiding a wellness check.

In January, Mounties released a photo of an unidentified woman to determine if she was connected to the O’Soup investigation. The woman had short black hair and was wearing a B.C. Ferries jacket and a Bee-Clean reflective vest, dark pants and shoes.

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In May, RCMP renewed an appeal for help in finding O’Soup.

In a news conference, Coquitlam RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Paige Kuz made a direct appeal to O’Soup, saying “Elli, your loved ones and the police are concerned for you and are steadfast to confirm your safety and wellbeing.

“You are not in trouble, we need to make sure you are OK.”

Vancouver Police are investigating the circumstances of O’Soup’s death.

chchan@postmedia.com

twitter.com/cherylchan

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