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Aged 15, was hitchhiking to her friends home in Smithers, BC on June 11, 1994.
Ramona's strangled body was found a year later(April 9 1995) near the Smithers Airport.
Every year on Ramona's birthday, the Wilson family gathers at the site for a memorial, a heartbreaking ritual that she said will continue until the case is solved
Matilda Wilson
Ramona's mother still searchs for answers
By Ethan Baron (staff reporter, The Province)
A number of people were present when Highway of Tears victim Ramona Wilson was killed, a private investigator says.
Wilson, 16, vanished in June 1994 while hitchhiking on Highway 16 near Smithers. Ten months later, two teens found her body in bush near Smithers Regional Airport
Surrey private eye Ray Michalko is probing the case and has received what he believes is reliable information about Wilson’s killing.
“There were three or more people present prior to her death,” Michalko said. “I don’t know how many were involved in her death, but I think that everyone present was aware of what was going on.”
It’s possible the homicide occurred at a bush party, he said.
The tipster’s willingness to meet with Michalko and provide his or her name added to the person’s credibility, he said.
Officially, nine women have vanished along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert. Five were found dead. All but one of the nine were aboriginal. Amnesty International estimates more than 30 women have gone missing from the highway over three decades.
Michalko intends to run an ad in the Smithers paper seeking information about Wilson’s death.
“What I’m trying to do is rattle some people up,” he said. “I’m hoping that somebody’s got a guilty conscience and says “I should have come forward long ago.”
Michalko’s ad says: “If you were one of the people that was present during this horrific crime, or know who was, for the sake of Ramona Wilson’s family, do the right thing and call Smithers RCMP immediately.”
He said he would soon meet with RCMP to discuss his findings.
If Ray Michalko is right,and people in Smither BC area do know what happened to Ramona PLEASE COME FORWARD..
the family+friends of Ramona Deserve answers..
If you were there with Ramona(@ the Pit party).You must at least been known to Ramona is a small way,through school,freinds,I think as someone that knew Ramona you should PLEASE help bring an end to this nightmare for the wilson family..
You have been silent for many years I think its time to talk,PLEASE DONT take the answers to your grave with you.
Ramona's friend Krystal says:
Ramona was such a dear friend and a young woman with more drive than anyone else I knew at age 15. She had hopes and dreams for her life, and was not one to let anyone near her suffer. The biggest thing she ever taught me was that things happen for a reason, and the creator has a purpose for everyone and all events. I still wonder what the purpose of her murder was, but I know that I have to look to the future as opposed to sitting back and wondering why things happen.
Matilda Wilson wants no one to ever forget her murdered daughter Ramona.
Saturday marked the 13-year anniversary since Wilson went missing and on Sunday, a memorial walk was organized that ended in the location on Yelich Rd. where Ramona's body was found in 1995.
"This walk is for the missing, the ones that haven't been found and the murders that have never been solved and one of them is Ramona," Wilson said.
The memorial walk has been taking place every year since Ramona's disappearance and Wilson said the event is more relevant each year as more young women go missing.
As students at Smithers Secondary were taking part in graduation celebrations on Saturday, Wilson said she was praying extra hard that each child remains safe.
"Every graduation, I always say more prayers than usual to make sure everyone stays safe," she said.
The walk has a dual purpose, Wilson said, to remember the Highway of Tears victims, and also to let the person responsible know they are still searching for them.
"We don't want to forget that their is still a killer or killers out there," she said. "Don't let your guard down. We still have to be careful. These murders are unsolved and there are so many loved ones missing. We want to let [the person responsible] know we're here every year and I haven't forgotten what has happened."
Wilson said in the last several months she has attended meetings with the RCMP in Prince Rupert and Prince George and is happy with the cooperation and openness she is now seeing.
"I'm pretty sure they're making a bit of progress but it's slow," she said. "[The RCMP] have gotten closer to us and they have made us understand what the process is and what they're working on."
