RCMP to apologize to family of murder victim Amber Tuccaro
'An apology only goes so far – we want to see redress for our family'
The RCMP plans to apologize to Amber Tuccaro's family Thursday, nine years after her disappearance.
An independent federal review of the Leduc RCMP's investigation into the 20-year-old Mikisew Cree Nation woman's disappearance found that police work in the case was "deficient."
Amber Tuccaro was last seen in Nisku on Aug. 18, 2010, a day after flying into Edmonton from Fort McMurray with her infant son.
Her remains were found on a farmer's field in rural Leduc County two years later. Her murder remains unsolved.
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The Tuccaro family released a statement Monday, announcing the apology will take place at the RCMP K Division headquarters in Edmonton, and that RCMP Deputy Commissioner Curtis Zablocki would deliver it.
In the emailed statement, Amber Tuccaro's mother, Vivian Tuccaro, said it's time for the RCMP to follow through on the report's recommendation to apologize to her family.
"That said, an apology only goes so far – we want to see redress for our family and real change from the RCMP so other families don't face the same tragedy we face," she said. "We know the RCMP is now working to bring Amber's murderer to justice and we ask for the public's help."
The family shared a portion of the RCMP civilian complaint commission's 120-page report in September 2018, which included a recommendation that the police force publicly apologize for the mistakes made and the "inadequate investigation undertaken overall by the Leduc detachment."
The review was undertaken after the family filed a complaint with the commission in 2014. The portion of the final report, dated Aug. 27, 2018, found that the officers involved in the case either weren't trained properly or did not adhere to training, policies and guidelines that should be followed in a missing person's case.
Issues identified by the commission include the decision to remove Amber Tuccaro's name from a missing person's list soon after she vanished.
It took four months for RCMP to interview Vivian Tuccaro about the disappearance of her daughter, which the commission found was "unreasonable and unexplained."
The family plans to unveil a poster about Amber Tuccaro at the apology, and to make a renewed plea to the public for help solving her murder.