Lorilee Mae Francis
Aliases: Lori-Lee Mae Francis, Kelly Francis
Case reference: 2012020032
Missing since: October 20, 2007
Missing from: Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada
Date of birth: November 5, 1983
Age at disappearance: 23 years
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Indigenous
Eye Color: Brown
Hair: Brown, Long
Height: 155 cm / 5ft 1in
Weight: 50 kgs / 110 lbs – 121 lbs
Physical Build: Slender/Thin
Details about Lorilee’s case: Lorilee was last known to be in Grande Prairie, Alberta. She has not been heard from by family or friends since October 20, 2007.
Lorilee has had struggles with addiction at the time of her disappearance and is a mother of two. The Grande Prairie RCMP have said that they believe Lorilee had been living a “high-risk lifestyle” which may or may not include survival sex work. This information has not been confirmed and remains alleged.
Lorilee’s brother Lance remembers that she is a very kind, loveable and approachable person. She was always very happy.
In 2020 a stranger had reached out to the family and told them that back in 2015 he had an encounter with a woman in Montreal who’s last name was Francis. He shared that she was from Alberta and that he had met up with this woman sever times in different locations in Montreal.
Upon hearing this information, Lance, his brother Lane and their cousins Eugene and Ryver packed up and headed to Montreal in search of Lorilee in hopes of bringing her home. Soon after arriving in Montreal they received more leads – tips from people who recognized Lorilee’s photo from the missing poster. They swept the Atwater area, near Cabot Square. This area is a known hub for the urban Indigenous population. They also searched the areas otherwise frequented by the homeless. An elderly woman also told them that she recognized her photo.
At this point the family went to the police for assistance. Lane said that they received no help and weren’t even willing to take her photo. Ryver said that they called the Grande Prairie RCMP upon learning that there had been possible sightings of Lorilee in Montreal. “They’re not helping us. We were talking to them before we came here, and every day we’ve been phoning and there’s no help,” Ryver said.
Five days into the family’s trip to Montreal and just a few hours before they were driving back to Alberta, an investigator with the RCMP detachment in Montreal agreed to a phone meeting.
Lance says the investigator could only promise they would do their best to keep an eye out. He believes “human error” is likely to blame for lack of follow-through.
“Law enforcement agencies will work together to help find the missing person,” an RCMP spokesperson said in an email to APTN.
Except police have no legal authority to detain a person of legal age who is deemed to be “safe and not in any danger.”
“It is not a crime to go missing in Canada if you are an adult,” the email reads. “The only information the police are allowed to share with the family or complainant is that the person has been located safe and sound.”
Though the family has returned home to Alberta, they can’t rule out another exploratory trip to Montreal in the future.
Anyone in Montreal who spots Lorilee is advised to contact local police force, the SPVM.
Telephone: 514 393-1133
Online at: https://infocrimemontreal.ca/en/make-a-report-simple
Additional Note of Interest: Lorilee was living with Jody Hockett who went missing on February 22, 2009 from Grande Prairie, Alberta.
Also, according to the CBC database for Missing & Murdered: The Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women and Girls, this is what they have as her entry:
Lorilee Mae Francis was 24 years old when she went missing in October 2007. Her family reported her missing in December of that year. They were concerned because she usually contacted them around Christmas. Police say she was living a high-risk lifestyle. Her disappearance is handled by the KARE unit, an RCMP entity that investigates files of murdered or missing vulnerable persons in Alberta. Police said Francis has no family in the area, and may have left northwest Alberta and moved elsewhere.
Project Kare is aware of the situation and is working with investigators in Grande Prairie.
If you have information on Lorilee’s case, please contact any of the following:
Grande Prairie RCMP: 780-830-5700
Reference Case#: 20071540144
Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS(8477)
Online at: https://www.canadiancrimestoppers.org/submit-a-tip/submit-a-tip
Crime Stoppers provides anonymous tipping
Send email to the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains at: canadasmissing-disparuscanada@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Sources:
Canada’s Missing
CBC – Missing & Murdered: The Unsolved Cases of Indigenous Women and Girls
APTN News
Lori-Lee Come Home – Facebook Group
Someone Saw Something 
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