When his government Canada expanded the Trans-Canada Highway to open the Yellowhead Highway (also known as Highway 16) in 1970, unaware that it was creating one of the darkest roads in the country’s history. The abuse would tarnish the history of this highway in the northern part of the country in the coming years, making it also known as the “highway of tears” after a series of disappearances and murders, mainly of women, along its entire length.
Since the late 1980s, many women, mostly First Nations (Indigenous Canadians), have disappeared while using the highway. According to information, about 23 First Nations social groups live near the highway, most of which is almost deadly silent. Except for some passing cars or trucks passing by, the highway is almost deserted.
For the inhabitants of the area, therefore, who had no means of transport, there was no other form of transport. So for many young women trying to get somewhere along the road, hitchhiking was obviously the best, if not the only, alternative.
But in 1989, the murder of Alberta Williams on the future “Tear Highway” was the first of many to follow, according to CBS. Eight more young girls and women would disappear along the highway by 2006, with none of those disappearances being investigated by authorities.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police launched an investigation in 2005 to investigate disappearances and killings. Linking other mysterious murders to nearby or connecting highways, the RCMP involved more women in its research work. To date, it has found that 18 women have fallen victim to highway crime in British Columbia, with the Tear Highway in the northwest of the province.
Specific highway covers a distance of 725 km, being part of the main highway Trans-Canada which measures a total of 7,530 km.
The “tear highway” refers specifically to the area between Prince Rupert Harbor and Prince George Town, a distance that takes at least 8 hours to cover by road. It is mainly a deserted road, with very few stops, which in recent years has been served by some means of public transport after complaints and concerns about the safety of the First Nations living around it.
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