Today marks another year gone by since a Swift Current woman went missing, leaving many loved ones behind.

Kandice Singbeil was last seen in the early hours of May 26, 2015, riding her bike around downtown Saskatoon. 

Pauline Singbeil, Kandice’s mother, said their family is still looking for answers.  

“There's so many different scenarios that go through your mind,” Pauline said. “Like human trafficking or runaway or homicide, in a situation with people that she shouldn't have been. But being in addictions is a road that is not easily traveled.  

“We know deep in our heart that she did not run away. That was something that we eliminated right away because she wouldn't have done that. For our case with Kandice, we were two weeks in and [police] informed us that they suspected highly that it was homicide.  

“Until we find her—it's still always open, but I don't know. I feel in my heart that she's no longer with us and in a better place. But we still would like to know for sure and have answers for the kids, because it's hard.” 

vigil for kandice singbeil

From the beginning of the case, Pauline spoke highly of the Saskatoon Police Service, even saying they’ve done as much as they possibly can.  

She explained that officers still reach out when remains are found to let the Singbeil family know they don’t belong to Kandice. 

While Swift Current RCMP may not be as involved as the Saskatoon Police Service, their Victim Services team reached out to Pauline earlier this year. 

“They said, ‘Pauline, we've never done anything for your story, we felt like we didn't want to step on any toes. Is there anything that we can do?’” she said. “And so then we had some conversations and came up with getting the billboards to put Kandice on there. For the week of May 1, that's missing persons week, the City donated time at the InnovationPlex for that billboard, and they ran it a lot. [We’re] very, very grateful to the City for doing that. And then there's also two billboards, up by the Caravel Motel and the billboard going up over the overpass. They were [showing] her picture there for the week.  

“It was very hard to see those pictures up there. A lot of our focus was always in Saskatoon, but this year I just had a feeling maybe to hit her hometown because so many people ask about her. To this day people approach me like, have you heard anything? And I say believe you me, if we ever have answers, we will definitely let people know.” 

innovationplex billboard kandice singbeil

Pauline raised Kandice’s two children who were eight years old and four months old when she disappeared. 

Support from family and friends is what Pauline described as her biggest help in navigating the difficult journey. 

“There are different times when triggers are huge and you don't realize it,” she said about her relationship with her two other daughters. “I found out that Mother's Day was a huge trigger for my youngest and I didn't realize that until this year. It didn't really click because I was so busy taking care of the little ones. Some days you can handle it better than others. 

“I spent a lot of time in Saskatoon, whenever there's gatherings for families where we can be supportive of each other because there's a lot of people that don't really understand. A lot of them are indigenous families but I have become very close knit with them because we all have similar stories, so we can understand. They're in our shoes. We support each other that way.” 

pauline, and kandice daughter

Every year when May 26 rolls around, the Singbeil family honours Kandice; sometimes privately, sometimes including the public. Dorie's House in Swift Current plays a large role in that. 

Kandice knew Dorie and her family quite well, and a tree was planted at the treatment centre in honour of Kandice.

The Singbeils take part in the annual Run for Shelter event, donating whatever funds they bring in to Dorie's House, in Kandice's name. This year, her children, sisters, parents, and friends will do the colour run on June 10, in remembrance of her.

"She's a person, she's not a number," Pauline said. "At this time, [there are] 137 missing long-term cases in the province. Like everyone keeps saying, these are not numbers, they are people. They are parts of families, they're moms, sisters, daughters.

"If anybody knows anything or a little bit of information that might be the missing piece of the puzzle that the police are looking for, [they can] come forward anonymously through Crime Stoppers or the RCMP here or Saskatoon Police Service. They will always take information and go from there. If you have anything, please come forward. It's not too late."

kandice sign at dories house