By Joel van der Veen
KENASTON — Nine months after Sheree Fertuck went missing, her family is still waiting to learn her fate.
The 51-year-old mother and grandmother disappeared in December of last year and has not been seen or heard from since then.
Police announced in April that they believed Fertuck was the victim of homicide, but they have yet to lay charges in the case.
Her mother, Juliann Sorotski, said the family is holding on “as best as we can … (We) just hope and pray the police will come up with something soon.”
“Maybe somebody will talk soon, or some kind of evidence will be found,” she said Wednesday.
Sorotski asked the public to keep their eyes and ears open for any clues, adding, “However small, it’s very important to the police.”
The RCMP Major Crimes South unit issued an update on Sept. 7, asking the public to keep an eye out for anything suspicious as harvest continues and hunting season begins.
Residents are asked to check rural properties, outbuildings and other areas, as they are out working in farm fields or hunting game.
Police said in the update that they have received multiple tips from the public, and they encourage anyone with information, “however big or small,” to contact them as they continue the search.
Fertuck was last seen leaving the family farmyard east of Kenaston on Dec. 7, around 1:30 p.m.
A semi truck used by Fertuck to haul gravel was found the next morning at a gravel pit further east off of Highway 15, with her cellphone, keys and coat inside.
In the weeks following her disappearance, local residents gathered to organize search parties.
Multiple RCMP units, including local detachments, Search and Rescue, Police Dog Service, Civil Air Search and Rescue, and the Underwater Recovery Team, have also contributed to the investigation.
Police said in April that they were conducting targeted searches in the Kenaston area, but have not announced any findings since then.
At the time she was last seen, Fertuck was wearing a grey sweater, grey sweatpants, white running shoes and eyeglasses.
She has not made contact with her family since her disappearance. Nor has there been any banking activity recorded or any use of her cellphone or passport.
Sorotski said she is in regular contact with police, though they have had little information to share lately.
“I talk to the head investigator probably once every two weeks,” she said.
Gene Whitehead, who led local search efforts last winter, said no community searches are planned at present.
He asked local residents to “keep an eye out for anything that’s out of the normal,” but added that previous searches had been thorough and exhaustive.
Organizers had hoped that the onset of summer would assist search efforts by causing sloughs to dry up, but continued high levels of rain have dashed those hopes.
“Just about every vacant building in the area here was checked in December,” said Whitehead.
Fertuck was living and working from the Sorotski family farm at the time of her disappearance.
She and her husband Greg had been separated for around five years. He has since been identified in court documents as a suspect in her disappearance and presumed death.
Anyone with information is asked to contact their local RCMP detachment or phone Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).