‘Vancouver Police must issue an apology to Chelsea’s family for their lack of action,’ FSIN says

After the body of Chelsea Poorman was found at a vacant Vancouver home last month, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) is calling on the VPD to conduct a full investigation into the death and apologize to the family.

Chelsea Poorman was 24 when she was last seen downtown on Sept. 6, 2020 and was reported missing two days later. Last week, Vancouver police confirmed Poorman’s body was found outside a vacant home in the city’s Shaughnessy neighborhood.

Poorman was a member of the Kawacatoose First Nation in Saskatchewan, and the federation said in a release Tuesday the Vancouver police need to do more to figure out how Poorman died.

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“We call upon the Vancouver Police Department to proceed with the investigation in order to find out what happened to Chelsea to assist her family in finding closure in the tragic loss of their daughter.”

Police believe Poorman died at the home the night she disappeared or shortly thereafter, “but went undiscovered because the house has been vacant for years.”

Vancouver Police Sgt. Steve Addison says the death is not considered suspicious, and it would be very difficult to determine a cause due to how long the body was on the property.

Chelsea Poorman was last seen in Downtown Vancouver on Sept. 7, 2020. (Photo courtesy: Sheila Poorman)

“There’s no evidence to suggest that Chelsea [was] killed. There’s no evidence to suggest that her death is the result of a crime or was caused in the hands of another person,” he said.

However, FSIN believes Poorman was murdered, and says although it is Indigenous People’s Treaty and Inherent Right to be protected by police across Canada, the department failed them.

“The Vancouver Police must issue an apology to Chelsea’s family for their lack of action,” the FSIN said. “Too many of our mothers, daughters, sister have been taken and murdered, and we have gotten no answers as to what happened. This needs to end.”

Chelsea’s mother, Sheila, is heartbroken and says while confirmation of her daughter’s death offers her some closure, she’s left wondering what happened to her daughter.

“We don’t know how she died … She was just there and she just died without trying to call for help? That’s not Chelsea. She’s been put some dangerous situations, but she always found a way to reach out to her family. No matter what was going on, she always found a way to get out of situations and call us. For her to be just there, for who knows how long … a lot of unanswered questions,” she told CityNews.

In a comment to CityNews, the BC Coroners Service confirmed they are investigating Poorman’s death, and as the investigation is open, no additional information can be provided.

With files from Tarnjit Parmar, Andrew Cowie, and Michael Williams