The stepfather of a young Inuk woman found dead inside her St. Albert apartment says he is holding onto hope that his granddaughter is still alive — even as RCMP continue to search for the infant's remains.
"I like to think that she's still alive. That's my hope," said Ross Learn, stepfather of Ayla Egotik-Learn. "Whether that's realistic or not, that's another story, but that's what I'm clinging to."
Egotik-Learn, 23, was originally from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Her body was discovered in January inside her apartment at Sturgeon Point Villas in St. Albert, northwest of Edmonton, after an attempted eviction led to the grim finding. Police also located a suspicious package at the scene that led them to believe her infant daughter, Braylee Beasley, had also been harmed.
The baby has never been found. A man has been charged in connection with Egotik-Learn's death and the disappearance of her daughter.
New Timeline Haunts Family
In a development that has deepened the family's anguish, Alberta RCMP announced this week that Egotik-Learn likely died in September — roughly four months before her body was discovered — rather than in December as was initially believed.
Learn, who lives in Iqaluit, told reporters he had travelled to Edmonton in October hoping to finally meet his granddaughter for the first time. When his messages to Egotik-Learn went unanswered, her mother Andrea reached out through other channels. A reply came from the young woman's phone stating that she and the baby were too ill for visitors.
"I had hoped that, prior to me coming back home, that I'd be able to have at least one visit with them. But that never happened."
According to Learn, the family continued to receive messages from Egotik-Learn's phone and social media accounts throughout the autumn and into December — a period during which RCMP now believe she was already dead.
"The new timeline has left him haunted," Learn said.
Search for Infant's Remains Ongoing
On Tuesday, RCMP said they believe Braylee's remains were discarded in a garbage bin near the same apartment complex where her mother's body was found. Investigators continue to search for the infant.
The case has drawn attention to the vulnerability of young Indigenous women living away from their home communities, and to the ongoing crisis of violence against Indigenous women and girls across Canada.
Learn said he never had the chance to hold his granddaughter. He has not given up hope — however fragile that hope may be.
Source: CBC Calgary/Edmonton. Additional reporting by WestNet News Staff.