Investigation into missing teen continues under Major Crimes Unit

The search for a 14-year-old girl missing from Prince Albert is now under the purview of the police force’s Major Crimes Unit.

While the search for Peyton Flett continues, her family, along with Shoal Lake Cree Nation members, the Prince Albert Grand Council and police are asking for public help finding the teen who was last seen in mid-June.

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“We’ve been looking for her every hour of the day,” said her mother Danica Moore.

Flett will turn 15 on Aug. 19, Moore said, but she does not know how that birthday will be celebrated.

“There should be cake and family and laughter. Instead, there’s an empty space where she would sit, and our family is living a nightmare. I’m here today begging as a parent… please help us bring Peyton home safely to her family and to us,” Moore said.

Flett’s case is one of more than 900 missing-person reports the Prince Albert Police Service has received so far this year. Last year, the service investigated 2,229 missing-person cases.

Peyton Flett, 14, has not been seen since June 17. Anyone with information on where she might be was asked to call Prince Albert Police or Crime Stoppers. (Prince Albert Police Service)

Roughly 588 of this year’s reports have required “an investigative lens and a background,” police chief Patrick Nogier said during a news conference on Wednesday.

Nogier said missing-person investigations remain with the patrol division until there is sufficient concern or a need to elevate the investigative capacity of the organization.

“We are an organization that prioritizes investigative strategies from an evidence-based foundation,” Nogier said.

He cautioned people not to jump to conclusions based on information posted to social media that may or may not be accurate.

Inspector Lisa Simonson, who heads the Criminal Investigations Division, said the Major Crimes Unit is actively investigating Flett’s disappearance. Some of the information police have learned has changed since the investigation began.

Flett was initially reported as having last been seen on June 21, but officers have since learned she was last seen between June 16 and 17 in the area of John Diefenbaker School and later near the Northern Lights Casino, at Marquis Road and Central Avenue.

She was described as being five-foot-four and 115 pounds, with long, dark black-and-reddish hair and brown eyes.

She was last seen wearing Christmas pyjama pants and a dark hoodie and carrying a black backpack.

Officers have heard informal reports that Peyton may have been seen elsewhere and are asking anyone with information about where she might be to contact police.

All tips, no matter how minor, should be reported, said Simonson.

“We are asking anyone who believes that they have seen Peyton to make a formal report directly to police so our investigators can assess and follow up on that information. More broadly, we are asking for anyone who saw Peyton, spoke with her, communicated with her through social media, text messaging, travelled with her or has information about her movements or the people that she may have been with from June 16 onward to contact us,” she said.

Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte, of the Prince Albert Grand Council, reiterated the call for help, offering to act as a conduit for those who don’t feel comfortable talking to police directly.

“We will help bring it forward and make sure it reaches the Prince Albert Police Service investigators on Peyton’s case, because someone out there knows something. We know that someone knows something out there,” he said.

“Maybe you saw something, maybe you heard something, or maybe you know something that you’re not sure matters. Bring it forward,” Hardlotte added.

Chief Erma Merasty, of Shoal Lake Cree Nation, where Flett’s family is from, said it is important for people to support the Flett family and remember that a young person is missing.

“She belongs to a family that loves her very much and to a community that cares deeply about what happens to her. As a mother and as a chief, my heart is with Peyton’s family,” Merasty said.

Anyone with information about Flett’s whereabouts was asked to contact the Prince Albert Police Service or Crime Stoppers.