Ruth was last seen alive on a video surveillance tape at 2:30am leaving the Grand Union Hotel in Athabasca, Alberta on March 28, 2008. Ruth’s body was found three kilometers away on the frozen Athabasca River. The mother of three was found on April 7. 2008 and her death was determined as a suicide by a medical examiner.
The RCMP did not suspect foul play, but her sister, Berna Barore, said it just doesn’t make sense that Ruth would walk three kilometres out of town, past her own apartment to end her life. It appears that Berna had been waiting on Ruth to come to her apartment (which she had a key to) and she never showed up. She went to sleep at 3:00am.
Berna said when she reported the mother of three missing, she had a hard time convincing police to search for her.
“We couldn’t get them to do a search. My family came from all over Canada. They came and helped me do the search for her,” she said, adding that police didn’t seem to know who she was talking about when she called for updates on Ruth’s case. “I fought and fought. I was asking how the investigation is doing,” she said. “I called every day and they would say, ‘What missing person?’”
Ruth’s body was eventually located by a woman who lived close by. Apparently police dogs had gone by the site the day before and missed it. The family wasn’t called to identify Ruth’s body and none of her personal items were returned, both Berna and the report from RCMP say this.
After asking several times, Berna was able to get a copy of Ruth’s autopsy. The autopsy report stated her immediate cause of death was “diphenhydramine toxicity” — that is, toxicity from a form of Benadryl — the manner of death was “suicide.”
Berna said that the RCMP had asked her to sign off on the complaint and she said she wouldn’t because she didn’t agree with the findings. She said her next step to was to write to Ottawa to contest the report, but she said she would just let it go.
Berna filed a complaint against the Athabasca RCMP alleging racism, disrespect and a faulty investigation. A report prepared by the RCMP of the Eastern Alberta District found there was no evidence to support the allegations, stating that RCMP officers immediately started a search for Ruth.
Alberta RCMP said Ruth Cocks’s death remains closed as a suicide. A spokesperson declined an interview.
There is an email response sent to the CBC regarding this case.
“In light of the upcoming National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, it would be inappropriate to enter into discussions on specific operations and investigations, past or present,” an emailled response stated.
“With that being said, the RCMP welcomes the opportunity to respond directly to any inquiries made by the immediate family members of the cases you have identified. The discussion of any details of the police investigations into these matters is limited to the individual who has been the main point of contact for investigators in the case, usually the immediate family of the deceased, and will not be done with or through third parties. Finally, you may rest assured, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police will give the Inquiry its full participation and co-operation.”
Ruth was alone at the time she disappeared from the hotel bar, Berna said. Though Ruth had always liked partying, she was in recovery from alcohol addiction and had started turning her life around.
Berna is quoted as saying, “She was a devoted mother to her three daughters. I was fighting every step of the way. I didn’t have anyone helping me. It’s a long ways for her to have walked in the dark”
Source:
CBC
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