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Ashley Simpson: Three Months Gone

Every morning, John Simpson wakes with the birds to get in a little fishing before he starts work as a chef at the Longhouse in Huntsville. For John, this annual summer assignment is heaven on Earth, and he brings along the family.

This year, little Emma is helping him out along with other family members. She is thrilled to spend time with her Grandpa and has become a very skilled little fisherperson. Emma is a little girl with a grown up job. Instead of goofing all summer, she's decided to work with her Grandpa making muffins and other treats.



John is a lucky man, some would say, with a big family, and a brand new grandchild who was born just last month. What more could he ask for?

Truth is, John is an injured bird who is missing his wing. When he looks around the kitchen at the Longhouse, he expects to see his daughter Ashley who has been by his side cooking and entertaining all the kids who come to this resort each summer. This year, Ashley somehow lost her way, may have lost her life. She has been missing since late April -- nearly three months now -- and there is still no sign of her, not a clue, not a shoe, or a hair.

She was the victim of either an accident, or foul play, after she disappeared from her temporary home in Salmon Arm, B.C. where she was working at a hotel, and living with a boyfriend. The police suspect she was murdered, but the family is still holding out hope that somehow a miracle will happen and Ashley will walk out of the woods, and into the Longhouse with some kind of strange story.

She is one of the missing women of British Columbia. Most of them are presumed dead, and have left this Earth without a trace. The families look for clues. They sometimes hear their voices in the wind, and their laughter in the splashes of water; they see them in rainbows.

For John, wife Cindi, their children and friends, life will never be the same. As John said recently, while his heart is broken, life must go on. He continues to live because it's what parents of the missing do.

They fish with their granddaughters. They serve the world in their own way. They try to make sense of what has happened.

They know despite good fishing, and the smiles of granddaughters, that the world is an ugly place.

They cry.

And they wait.

Perhaps for days, or months, perhaps forever.



A fundraiser for Ashley Simpson's family will be held on July 30th in Thorold, Ontario.





Comments

  1. Absolutly heart breaking but also nice to see being pulled together instead of apart in our prayers as always as we all wish for answers for you and will always keep a light on to help ashley find her way stay strong great job emma so many ppl are very proud of you xo

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