Juanita Migwans, from the M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island, has been missing for more than a month, but her aunt says she is not giving up the search.

“You know, we have some suspicions,” said Migwans’ aunt, Mary Ashcroft.

“One is that she is still on Manitoulin Island and is no longer with us. The other is that she was taken against her will somewhere in Ontario, perhaps in the area of Toronto or Hamilton.”

Ashcroft said her niece, a 30-year-old mother, intended to become a social worker and went to college for a short time with that goal in mind.

“Unfortunately, things went badly for her and she became involved in the drug world on the island,” Ashcroft said.

“(She) hasn’t been doing well since then. So that’s when she started to go downhill.”

Ashcroft doesn’t live in Manitoulin, but he says the drug trade has taken hold there and ruined people’s lives.

This is something that local police have also stated.

In April, Anishnaabe police from the United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin (UCCM) created an anti-drug unit to combat drug trafficking on the island, in response to residents’ concerns.

UCCM was not available for comment on Migwans’ disappearance, but Ashcroft said the police department had “been extraordinary” in their efforts to find her niece.

“When he was first reported missing, they immediately took action,” she said.

“They have a team of 16 people made up of, I believe, the UCCM, which is the tribal police, and the OPP. They have done ground searches, helicopter searches, drone searches, and as early as Initially, they organized a RIDE campaign where they distributed “Juanita Missing” posters.

Despite these efforts, Ashcroft said police still have no leads to determine what might have happened to Migwans or where she might be.

She said general distrust of police in the community and fear of drug dealers in the area hampered their search efforts.

“They had a hard time getting people to answer their doors and talk to the police,” Ashcroft said.

But Ashcroft added that community members can anonymously share any information they may have about Migwans’ disappearance.

“The only thing we know right now is that someone knows where she is,” she said.