Statement
from the Father of Ashley Marie Simpson
December 6, 2021
On April 16, 2016, our 32-year-old daughter Ashley
Simpson vanished into thin air from her home in Salmon Arm, B.C. It wasn’t like
Ashley. She took to Facetime every day to speak to my wife Cindy and her
friends.
It was more than a week before her boyfriend called
Cindy. We knew something was terribly wrong, and so a contingent of her family
and friends hit the road in hopes of finding her.
When we arrived, it was clear that no one was looking
for her. She had only recently moved to the Silver Creek community, and local
residents were distressed to find a small but vocal group of strangers
converging on them, bringing the police to their doors.
We encountered many roadblocks, and some individuals
who were determined to lead us off track in our search. Our team was
inconsolable at the thought of returning to our home in Niagara-on-the-Lake
without finding a trace of Ashley.
But we never gave up, and returned to the area many
times.
It’s been five years and eight months since that
terrible spring. We have busied ourselves raising money to help others in
similar situations, and I have dedicated my life to raising awareness about the
epidemic of missing and murdered women in this country. My wife Cindy has, at
all times, been available to the media to answer all questions in hopes that
someone would come forward to give us answers. She also worked behind the
scenes with the RCMP and gratefully accepted the support of the officers in
charge of Ashley’s case.
We always had hope that, against all odds, Ashley
would return to us.
Last Friday, December 3, our prayers were answered.
Unfortunately, there was no storybook ending. The detectives from her case
travelled from B.C. to personally tell us that they had found our daughter’s
remains, and had arrested a suspect. All we could muster were tears of joy
mixed with sadness.
We had always hoped that Ashley would be found alive,
against all odds, but we also knew that, realistically, the chances of that
outcome were slim. As a father, I can tell you, no one can be prepared for news
that their daughter was found murdered and left to rot in ground.
But we are grateful that she will be returning to us
so she can finally be laid to rest in a place where her family and friends can
visit her. We would like to invite all to share that day with us.
The Simpson and McGean families would like to thank
the many RCMP officers who were involved in the case. In particular, we would
like to thank RCMP Constables Kim Jones and Carla Rivard who worked tirelessly
to find Ashley and bring her killer to justice. Their support, sensitivity and encouragement
has been a lifeline to my wife Cindy.
When Kim visited us last week, she brought with her
Ashley’s rings which were found at the scene. It was a very emotional time for
all of us, including Kim and Karla. Sometimes we forget that police officers
are people, too. Though they never met Ashley, the officers have spent years
doggedly running down every clue, even the smallest ones.
Kim told us when she found Ashley that she followed a
single beam of light that shone through the clouds and directed the way to
Ashley’s grave. I cannot tell you what a comfort that was to us.
We want to thank the dozens of people who dedicated
their time and energy to find our Ashley. We thank the media for always
checking in on us to keep Ashley’s case alive. In particular, we want to thank
the hundreds of people who are part of Ashley’s Army, an online community that
has provided great support to us over the years, and to the Murdered and
Missing Indigenous Women’s group who continue to call for justice for the many
Indigenous women who remain missing.
As well, we thank the volunteer members of the Wings
of Mercy who continued to search for Ashley using ATVs and drones.
We sincerely hope, by finding Ashley, that this gives
other families hope that their loved ones will be found and returned to them. There
are hundreds of unsolved cases of murdered and missing women and children in
Canada, and we must remain mindful that every missing person is someone’s
child. No one deserves our ending and families deserve our respect, love and
dignity.
The coming months will be difficult for us, but we are
strong. We will attend every trial and push for the truth to be revealed. And
we will never stop in our quest to fight for more and better resources to
support the families and victims of these senseless crimes. We want to change
things, and to be the voice for the missing. Our goal is to reunite more
families, and support those who are left behind.
From the beginning, our motto has been Never Give Up.
And we never will.
We will continue to build Ashley’s Army, in the name
of my daughter. It’s what she would have wanted. This is not the end. This is
the beginning.
We will not remain silent.
Hear us roar.
John Simpson, Niagara-on-the-Lake
Please find a link to a fundraiser to help our family in the days ahead.
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