On the morning of January 26, 2014, a McCain’s plant employee arrived at the Portage & District Recycling Depot on the western edge of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, to drop off recyclables. What he found instead was a 20-year-old woman, half-buried in freshly fallen snow, barely clinging to life. Within hours, Rocelyn “Roxy” Gabriel would be pronounced dead at Portage District General Hospital — a victim, officials said, of nothing more than a brutal Manitoba winter.
But for Rocelyn’s family, “nothing more” was never going to be enough.
More than a decade later, Rocelyn’s case remains open, unresolved, and — in the eyes of the people who loved her most — unanswered. This post accompanies our Vanished Voices episode on Rocelyn’s story, and dives deeper into the timeline, the investigation, and the broader crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) that her case has come to represent.
Who Was Rocelyn Gabriel?
Rocelyn Gabriel was Ojibway, born and raised in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba — a small city about 51 miles (82 km) west of Winnipeg, and a member of Skownan First Nation (CBC News, n.d.). Friends and family called her “Roxy,” and she was known for a warm, easygoing presence — the kind of person who, once you got past her initial shyness, treated you like family (CBC News, n.d.).
In 2013, Rocelyn graduated from high school and was preparing for the next chapter of her life: a nurse’s aide certificate program at Red River College in Portage la Prairie. Her mother, Joyce Gabriel, has described Rocelyn as someone with “big dreams” and a kind, nurturing spirit — qualities that pointed toward a future spent caring for others.
In the months before her death, Rocelyn had also made a personal commitment to her health, giving up alcohol entirely. On the night that would become her last, witnesses confirmed she was sober — an important detail that complicates the narrative that she was simply a young woman who got too drunk and wandered into the cold (CBC News, n.d.).
Rocelyn’s family was no stranger to the realities faced by Indigenous women and girls in Canada. Her cousin, Jennifer Catcheway, had vanished without a trace in 2008 — a case that, to this day, also remains unsolved (Taylor, 2017). The two families lived just a few houses apart (Taylor, 2017). No one could have imagined that, six years later, Rocelyn’s name would join Jennifer’s on the long and growing list of Indigenous women whose disappearances and deaths have raised more questions than answers.
January 25–26, 2014: The Last Night
Saturday, January 25, 2014, began like countless other winter weekends for the Gabriel family. Joyce Gabriel later recalled that the last time she saw her daughter was that afternoon, in the kitchen of their Portage la Prairie home — Rocelyn hugged her mother, told her she loved her, and gave her a short shopping list before Joyce left for Winnipeg (CBC News, n.d.).
That evening, Rocelyn joined her sister Lynette and cousin Mindy at a small gathering on 17th Street to celebrate a cousin’s birthday (CBC News, n.d.). Around 11:00 PM, the group moved to a second house party near the Dairy Queen on 2nd Street. Rocelyn was last seen alive there by friends and family at approximately 4:00 AM on Sunday, January 26.
Outside, conditions had turned dangerous. A blizzard was sweeping through Portage la Prairie, with wind chills plunging to around -34°C (-29°F) (CBC News, n.d.). It was, by any measure, not a night for anyone to be outside without proper winter clothing — and yet, at some point after leaving the second party, Rocelyn ended up alone, on foot, without her coat.
A Confused Departure
Due to a miscommunication between Rocelyn, her sister, and her cousins, no one realized Rocelyn had left the party by herself. Each person assumed she was leaving with someone else. By the time anyone thought to check, she was gone — into a blizzard, in a sweater, with no coat and no boots.
The Recycling Depot
Security camera footage later reviewed by police showed Rocelyn arriving alone at the Portage & District Recycling Depot — roughly 3 km (1.86 miles) from the area where she was last seen — at approximately 4:45 AM (Barrera, 2014). How she got there is one of the central mysteries of this case. Police initially suggested she covered the distance on foot in under 40 minutes, a claim Rocelyn’s family has long found difficult to believe given the conditions that night.
What happened next is documented, in part, by that same surveillance footage. According to Rocelyn’s aunt, Loretta Traverse, the video showed Rocelyn taking shelter behind large recycling bins and emerging four separate times to run toward the road, trying to flag down passing vehicles for help (Barrera, 2014). Each time, no one stopped. Each time, she retreated back behind the bins.
Nahanni Fontaine, who at the time served as the Manitoba government’s special advisor on Aboriginal women’s issues, reviewed the footage and described watching Rocelyn “trying to keep warm” — moving between spots, jumping, clearly fighting to survive (Taylor, 2014).
For roughly three hours, Rocelyn endured this alone. By 8:00 AM, she could no longer get up. It was around this time that the McCain’s employee arrived and found her in the snow. First responders found her still conscious when they arrived, but she succumbed to hypothermia at the hospital later that day (CBC News, n.d.).
“We Don’t Understand”: The Family’s Questions
Just days after Rocelyn’s death, on January 28, 2014, her family held a candlelight vigil at the very recycling depot where she’d spent her final hours. Around 80 community members gathered in the bitter cold to honor her memory (Barrera, 2014).
Rocelyn’s sister, Connie, voiced what would become the family’s central question: “We don’t understand… there’s no reason for her to pass by [all the houses] and end up over there” (Barrera, 2014). The family has consistently pointed out that Rocelyn knew the area well. Homes of friends and relatives lined the route between the second party and the recycling depot — any one of which she could have approached for help (CBC News, n.d.). Joyce Gabriel has said she still doesn’t understand why her daughter would try to walk home in a storm from a location at least a 30-minute walk away, when shelter was so much closer (CBC News, n.d.).
Then there’s the missing coat. Rocelyn left for the party wearing a winter coat. She was found in only a sweater. To date, no one has explained where that coat went.
And there’s the matter of her purse. According to information relayed to the family, Rocelyn’s purse — with her phone inside — was found down the road from the depot, separate from where she herself was found (Barrera, 2014). For a young woman who, by all accounts, was alone, this detail has never sat right with her family.
A Troubled Investigation
From the outset, Rocelyn’s family has been critical of how the RCMP handled the case — and their criticisms echo a pattern that has been documented again and again in cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous women across Canada.
According to Loretta Traverse, officers at the scene treated Rocelyn’s death as an accident from the very beginning. The area was not cordoned off, and no immediate search for evidence was conducted (Barrera, 2014). Investigators did not interview Rocelyn’s family or friends in the days immediately following her death, and the lead investigator on her file reportedly went on holiday shortly afterward (Barrera, 2014).
Perhaps most troubling: when Loretta Traverse asked why a sexual assault examination hadn’t been performed on Rocelyn’s body, she was reportedly told, “We didn’t think there was a need for that” (Barrera, 2014). It was only after the family pushed that the exam was conducted. The results have never been made public.
RCMP spokesperson Constable Tara Seel defended the initial response, stating that the officers involved were experienced and were “going with their reaction” — essentially, their gut instinct that this was a hypothermia death and nothing more (Barrera, 2014).
It’s also worth noting: it was the family, not the police, who pushed investigators to pull surveillance footage from businesses near the depot. As Joyce Gabriel put it, “We had to ask them to get the surveillance of all the other businesses — they didn’t [do it on their own]” (Barrera, 2014).
A Shift — But Was It Enough?
For more than a year, Rocelyn’s case sat largely dormant — labeled “not suspicious” but technically unsolved. Then, on June 11, 2015, RCMP investigators publicly asked for tips related to the case, telling reporters they had pieced together a timeline of Rocelyn’s movements but still had unanswered questions about what happened between 4:00 AM and 4:40 AM on January 26 — the exact window in which Rocelyn somehow traveled from the party to the depot (CBC News, 2015).
This appeal for tips coincided with the RCMP’s release of its 2015 update to the National Operational Overview on missing and murdered Indigenous women — suggesting Rocelyn’s file may have come back into focus as part of that broader review (CBC News, 2015).
For the Gabriel family, it was bittersweet. They were glad for renewed attention, but couldn’t help wondering why this urgency hadn’t existed from day one — when evidence was freshest and the trail was warm.
“I Believe in My Heart It’s Foul Play”
In 2016, CBC’s investigative “Unresolved” series examined 34 cases across Canada in which Indigenous women died under circumstances officially ruled non-suspicious — but where families believed otherwise. Rocelyn’s case was one of four featured from Manitoba (Taylor, 2016).
In that piece, Rocelyn’s younger sister, Olivia Gabriel, stated plainly: “I believe in my heart it’s foul play” (Taylor, 2016). The CBC’s reporting drew a chilling parallel between Rocelyn’s case and that of Nicole Daniels, another young Indigenous woman found frozen to death in Manitoba in 2009 under similarly questioned circumstances. Across the cases reviewed in the series, CBC’s journalists found a recurring pattern: unexplained injuries, suspicious circumstances, and a failure to interview key witnesses (Taylor, 2016).
Testimony, Memory, and the Fight to Be Heard
Rocelyn’s story didn’t stay confined to Portage la Prairie. As the movement for a national reckoning on missing and murdered Indigenous women gained momentum, the federal government launched the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) in 2016.
In October 2017, members of the Gabriel family were invited to testify before the inquiry (Taylor, 2017). Notably, Joyce Gabriel ultimately found it too painful to retell her daughter’s story in that setting — a reminder that “justice” and “healing” don’t always move at the same pace, and that the toll of having to repeatedly relive a loved one’s death is its own kind of harm (Taylor, 2017).
The inquiry’s final report, Reclaiming Power and Place, was released in 2019. Built on the testimony of more than 2,380 family members, survivors, and knowledge keepers, the report concluded that the violence experienced by Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in Canada amounts to what the commissioners termed a “race-based genocide” — rooted in colonial structures including the Indian Act, the Sixties Scoop, and residential schools (National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, 2019). The report issued 231 individual Calls for Justice directed at governments, institutions, and all Canadians.
A Bench, A Name, A Reminder
In June 2019, North Memorial School in Portage la Prairie — the school Rocelyn attended as a child — unveiled a memory bench in her honor. School principal Valerie Smith called it an emotional ceremony, attended by Mayor Sharilyn Knox and the entire student body. Smith described the bench as both a tribute to Rocelyn and “a reminder for all the other women, daughters, and girls that we have lost in our community” (PortageOnline.com, 2019).
Local advocacy has continued in the years since. The Portage Friendship Centre has held community walks to raise awareness for MMIWG, with organizers — some of whom are related to both Rocelyn and Jennifer Catcheway — describing the cause as personal (PortageOnline.com, 2023).
Where the Case Stands Today
As of this writing, no one has been charged in connection with Rocelyn Gabriel’s death. The RCMP’s official position has not changed: Rocelyn died of hypothermia, and there is no confirmed evidence of foul play. But the case has also never been closed, and police have not publicly identified a suspect or an alternate theory of what happened in those critical, unaccounted-for minutes between 4:00 and 4:40 AM.
For the Gabriel family, that gap — both in time and in answers — is the heart of the matter. As Loretta Traverse put it, “Nobody walks miles through their community to end up at a secluded location, bypassing her home… She was cold, she would have knocked on the first door to get help. She didn’t have that opportunity” (Barrera, 2014).
The Bigger Picture: MMIWG in Canada
Rocelyn’s case cannot be separated from the broader crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. The RCMP’s own 2014 National Operational Overview identified 1,181 cases of missing or murdered Indigenous women between 1980 and 2012 (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2014). The 2015 update found that, while there had been some reduction in unsolved cases, Indigenous women remained dramatically overrepresented among Canada’s homicide and missing persons statistics relative to their share of the population (Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2015).
Rocelyn’s case fits a pattern that families, advocates, and journalists have documented again and again: a death quickly attributed to misadventure, a delayed or incomplete investigation, and a family left to do much of the investigative legwork themselves.
How You Can Help
If you have any information about what happened to Rocelyn Gabriel between January 25–26, 2014 — even something that seems small or insignificant — please contact the Portage la Prairie RCMP or Crime Stoppers Manitoba. Tips can be submitted anonymously.
Beyond this case, consider supporting organizations like the Native Women’s Association of Canada, which has long advocated for the safety of Indigenous women and girls and for systemic accountability in cases like Rocelyn’s.
And finally — talk about her. Share her story. Cases like Rocelyn’s stay open in part because communities refuse to let them be forgotten.
If Rocelyn’s story moved you, please consider rating, reviewing, and sharing Vanished Voices on your favorite podcast platform. Find Rocelyn’s story on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube or anywhere you listen to podcast. Every share helps amplify the voices of those who can no longer speak for themselves.
Have thoughts on this story or other cases you’d like to see highlighted? Share them with us in the comments or connect with us on social media. Together, we can ensure that stories like this one are never forgotten.
Don’t forget to follow us on social media, @VanishedVoicesPod, share your thoughts, and let us know what you’d like to hear about in future episodes. If you have any true crime stories of your own, send them our way Vanishedvoicespodcast@gmail.com to be featured on a future episode! And as always, Refuse to let these voices vanish. See you in the next episode of Vanished Voices!
Resources:
CBC News Coverage
Taylor, J. (2014, April 15). Rocelyn Gabriel’s family wants answers in freezing death. CBC News. Rocelyn Gabriel’s family wants answers in freezing death | CBC News
CBC News. (2015, June 17). Family hopeful RCMP report will help shed light on Rocelyn Gabriel’s death. CBC News. Family hopeful RCMP report will help shed light on Rocelyn Gabriel’s death | CBC News
CBC News. (2015, June 18). RCMP ask for tips on Rocelyn Gabriel’s whereabouts before she froze to death. CBC News. RCMP ask for tips on Rocelyn Gabriel’s whereabouts before she froze to death | CBC News
CBC News. (2016, February 19). 5 cases not included in the RCMP’s tally of missing and murdered indigenous women. CBC News. Missing and murdered women: A look at 5 cases not included in official RCMP tally | CBC News
Taylor, J. (2016, June 28). ‘I believe in my heart it’s foul play,’ says sister of woman found frozen to death. CBC News. Hypothermia or homicide? 2 Manitoba families question MMIW cases | CBC News
Taylor, J. (2017, October 16). Manitoba sisters-in-law both lost daughters, but only 1 will testify before MMIWG inquiry. CBC News. Manitoba sisters-in-law both lost daughters, but only 1 will testify before MMIWG inquiry | CBC News
CBC News. (n.d.). Rocelyn Eleanor Gabriel. Missing and Murdered: The Unsolved Cases of Canada’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Rocelyn Gabriel
APTN News
Barrera, J. (2014, January 28). Family questions RCMP’s handling of 20 year-old Ojibway woman’s death. APTN News. Family questions RCMP’s handling of 20 year-old Ojibway woman’s death – APTN News
Local/Portage la Prairie Coverage
PortageOnline.com. (2019, June 20). Memory bench at North Memorial School remembers Rocelyn Gabriel. PortageOnline.com. Memory Bench at North Memorial School remembers Rocelyn Gabriel – PortageOnline.com
PortageOnline.com. (2023, October). Portage Friendship Centre looking to increase attention for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. PortageOnline.com. Portage Friendship Centre looking to increase attention for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women – PortageOnline.com
Government and Inquiry Reports
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (2014). Missing and murdered Aboriginal women: A national operational overview. Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (2015). Missing and murdered Aboriginal women: 2015 update to the national operational overview. Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: 2015 Update to the National Operational Overview
National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. (2019). Reclaiming power and place: The final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls