Vancouver Police Under Investigation for Handling of Deaths of 3 Young Indigenous Women

Vancouver police are under scrutiny for their handling of three high-profile cases involving the deaths of young Indigenous women, CBC News has learned.

The Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC) has confirmed it is investigating how Vancouver police responded to the disappearances and deaths of 14-year-old Noelle O’Soup, 24-year-old Chelsea Poorman, and 20-year-old Tatyanna Harrison—all found dead within weeks of each other in the spring of 2022.

The cases, though not officially linked, have ignited public outcry over what families and advocates say was a lack of urgency, coordination, and respect in how authorities handled the disappearances of vulnerable Indigenous women.

Third OPCC Probe Confirmed

The OPCC has now confirmed a third misconduct investigation, this time into the Vancouver Police Department’s handling of Tatyanna Harrison’s case.

Her body was found on a yacht in a secured Richmond shipyard in May 2022, but it wasn’t identified until August. Her mother, Natasha Harrison, said police initially attributed her daughter’s death to an overdose—only for a later coroner’s report to list sepsis as the cause.

Natasha says she was never given a clear explanation of how her daughter ended up in a high-security area, why there was no sexual assault kit conducted, or why it took three weeks to even begin searching for her.

“None of it makes sense,” said Harrison. “They just let it slip through the cracks.”

Poorman Case Raises Alarm About Vulnerability and Delay

Chelsea Poorman, who had a brain injury and mobility challenges, vanished in September 2020. Her skeletal remains were found 18 months later on the property of a vacant mansion in Vancouver’s Shaughnessy neighbourhood.

The VPD initially classified her death as non-suspicious, but her family says she was missing fingers and part of her skull, and it took more than a week for police to issue a missing persons report.

The New Westminster Police are now investigating several VPD officers’ conduct in the case. Chelsea’s sister, Diamond Poorman, said the family has gone two years without updates.

“We’re just waiting and hoping for a miracle,” she said. “It’s not just my sister. It’s other women, too.”

O'Soup Case Involves Ongoing Criminal Investigation

In what’s widely seen as the most egregious of the three cases, 14-year-old Noelle O’Soup, who was in foster care, disappeared in May 2021 after fleeing a group home. Her remains were found a year later in a one-room East Vancouver apartment — alongside the body of another woman and that of the tenant, Van Chung Pham.

Shockingly, police had initially missed the two women’s bodies during an earlier search, only discovering them months later. The OPCC is investigating a police officer for neglect of duty in connection with that search.

Pham, who was later revealed to have a history of sexual violence and drugging women, had been deemed a public danger by immigration officials. Efforts to deport him had stalled, and he was released into the community before his death.

“This case is screaming for more investigation,” said Lorimer Shenher, former head of the VPD’s Missing Persons Unit. “These are perfect examples of discretion failing these victims.”

Echoes of Pickton Investigation

The botched investigations have stirred haunting memories of the Robert Pickton case, where systemic police failures led to the deaths of dozens of women — many of them Indigenous — on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

All three women — Noelle, Chelsea, and Tatyanna — were Indigenous and vulnerable. All three went missing, and all three were ultimately found dead in locations that, according to their families, should have prompted more urgency.

Their cases raise questions about how and whether police take reports of missing Indigenous women seriously — and whether lessons from the past are being learned at all.

What Happens Now

• The OPCC has launched three separate investigations.

• A VPD officer is being investigated for alleged misconduct in the O’Soup case.

• The New Westminster Police are reviewing VPD conduct in the Poorman case.

• Tatyanna Harrison’s case remains under active misconduct review — and her family continues to seek answers about how her death was handled.

In a statement, Vancouver police said they support the OPCC’s authority to investigate and will cooperate fully.

But advocates and families say more must be done.

“It is still too easy to victimize young Indigenous people,” said Shenher. “And that is unconscionable.”