Numerous women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside disappeared without trace between the mid-1990s and 2002, prompting a sustained police effort that eventually centred on a pig farm in nearby Port Coquitlam.
The pattern of missing persons reports grew steadily during those years. Most of the women were known to work in the sex trade and struggled with addiction. Their absences initially received limited coordinated attention from authorities, despite repeated calls from families and community advocates. The investigation gained momentum only after forensic links emerged that pointed to a single rural property.
Robert Pickton owned and operated the farm with his brother. The site contained several outbuildings, vehicles and large areas of disturbed soil. Police had visited the property on earlier occasions for unrelated matters, yet the full scale of what had occurred there remained hidden until a focused search began in February 2002.
The Pattern of Disappearances
Vancouver police recorded dozens of missing women reports from the Downtown Eastside over roughly ten years. Many of the women shared similar circumstances: they were often Indigenous, relied on street-based sex work for income, and faced significant barriers to safety. Community organisations compiled their own lists and pressed police to treat the cases as potentially connected rather than isolated incidents.
Initial responses treated each disappearance as a separate file. Resources remained stretched, and some officers viewed the women as transient and difficult to locate. This approach delayed recognition of a serial offender operating in the region.
Focus on the Pickton Property
The farm lay roughly thirty kilometres east of Vancouver. Robert Pickton lived there with family members and ran a small pig-rearing business. Neighbours described occasional parties and a generally isolated setting. Police had received tips linking Pickton to missing women as early as 1998, yet those leads were not pursued with urgency at the time.
A breakthrough occurred in 2002 when an informant provided information about items belonging to one of the missing women being found at the farm. Officers obtained a search warrant and began an extensive forensic examination that lasted more than a year.
The Investigation Unfolds
Search teams sifted through tonnes of soil, examined vehicles and dismantled structures. DNA profiles recovered from the site matched twenty-six missing women. Additional remains and personal effects were located in freezers and other locations on the property. The volume of evidence required careful documentation and laboratory analysis over many months.
Investigators also examined Pickton’s movements and associations. He had regular contact with the Downtown Eastside through his business activities and social visits. Statements from witnesses who had been on the farm described disturbing conversations and observations that later formed part of the prosecution case.
Arrest and Charges
Police arrested Robert Pickton on 22 February 2002. He faced initial charges for the murders of two women whose remains had been identified. Further charges followed as laboratory results confirmed additional matches. By the time the investigation concluded its main phase, he stood accused of twenty-seven counts of first-degree murder.
The Crown proceeded first with six counts to manage the complexity of the evidence. The trial began in January 2007 and lasted nearly a year. The jury convicted Pickton on all six counts. He received a life sentence with no possibility of parole for twenty-five years.
Remaining Cases and Public Inquiry
After the convictions, authorities stayed the remaining twenty-one charges. A subsequent public inquiry examined why earlier opportunities to identify the offender had been missed. The inquiry report highlighted communication failures between police agencies, inadequate tracking of missing persons and the marginalisation of the victims in investigative priorities.
The inquiry produced several recommendations aimed at improving responses to missing persons cases, particularly those involving vulnerable populations. Implementation of those recommendations has influenced training and procedures in British Columbia policing.
Conclusion
The investigation into the Vancouver disappearances ultimately revealed crimes committed over many years at a single location. The process exposed shortcomings in how missing persons reports were handled and led to lasting changes in investigative practice. The women whose lives were lost remain at the centre of any account of these events. Their names and the circumstances of their absences continue to be remembered through annual vigils and community remembrance efforts.
Bibliography
Cameron, S. (2010) On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver’s Missing Women. Toronto: Knopf Canada.
British Columbia (2012) Forsaken: The Report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. Victoria: Government of British Columbia.
CBC News (2007) ‘Pickton guilty on six counts of first-degree murder’, 9 December.
The Globe and Mail (2002) ‘Search at pig farm yields DNA of 26 women’, 28 August.
Vancouver Police Department (2010) Internal Review: Missing Women Investigation. Vancouver: Vancouver Police Department.
Oppal, W. (2012) Forsaken: The Report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, Volume II. Victoria: Government of British Columbia.
Pearson, M. (2007) The Pickton File. Toronto: Key Porter Books.
RCMP (2004) Project Evenhanded Progress Report. Ottawa: Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
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