Victoria Joanne Crow Shoe

Victoria Joanne Crow Shoe was a 43-year-old mother of four from the Piikani Nation, remembered for her kind and caring nature. A member of the Blackfoot Confederacy, she was known to her loved ones as Vickie. In the summer of 2015, she was navigating a difficult period in her life and was living at the Lethbridge Shelter, often spending her days at the public library. Despite her struggles, she remained connected to her family, who loved her deeply and grew worried when they could no longer reach her.

The last time Victoria’s family saw her was on August 26, 2015. The police investigation later established that she was last definitively seen alive on Monday, August 31. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) released surveillance images showing her on that day, hoping to piece together her final movements. After that date, Victoria vanished, leaving behind a two-week gap filled with unanswered questions. Her family, unable to contact her, grew increasingly concerned about her welfare.

On the morning of Sunday, September 13, 2015, a fisherman made a devastating discovery along the shore of the Oldman River Reservoir. At a day-use area known as Windy Point, just north of Pincher Creek, Alberta, he found human remains. Unaware that the search for their loved one had come to such a tragic end, Victoria’s family officially reported her missing to the Lethbridge Regional Police Service two days later, on September 15. It was soon confirmed that the body found at the reservoir was Victoria's. An autopsy later determined that her death was a homicide.

The investigation was taken over by the RCMP Major Crimes Unit - South. Investigators immediately appealed to the public for help, focusing on the crucial 13-day period between August 31, when she was last seen in Lethbridge, and September 13, when her body was found approximately 100 kilometers away. Police sought any information regarding her activities, who she might have been with, and how she traveled from the city to the remote reservoir shoreline. The case was particularly challenging, as Victoria’s life in the weeks before her death involved a transient community, making it difficult to retrace her steps.

Over the years, the RCMP has repeatedly renewed its plea for information, particularly on the anniversaries of Victoria’s death. They have stressed that even a small, seemingly insignificant detail could be the key to breaking the case open and providing answers for her grieving family. Her community has mourned her loss, remembering her as one of far too many missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada whose cases demand justice. Her death left her four children without their mother and a family forever marked by the violence that took her from them.

As of August 2025, a decade after she was stolen from her family, the murder of Victoria Joanne Crow Shoe remains an active and open homicide investigation. No arrests have been made, and no suspects have been publicly identified. Her story remains unfinished, a painful reminder of a life cut short and a family still waiting for justice.

The RCMP continues to ask anyone with information about Victoria’s whereabouts and activities between August 31 and September 13, 2015, to contact the Major Crimes Unit for Southern Alberta at 403-343-5572. To remain anonymous, tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).