Symbolic red dress theft may be hate crime: Sarnia, Ont. police

Video from a security camera at Sarnia City Hall may not be immediately compelling. But what its lens captured has hurt the Indigenous community and angered many in Sarnia-Lambton.

In the video, a male suspect wearing a white ball cap is seen taking clothing items off trees and light posts.

12 red dresses disappeared. In an upsetting twist, they had been placed just the day before, prior to the Stolen Sisters March.

It remembers missing and murdered Indigenous women.

“As soon as we came down the street, you could tell something is not right,” said an employee of the Sarnia-Lambton Native Friendship Centre.

He and another man had secured the dresses on Feb. 13.

Program manager Tracey LeBlond shares their shock.

“It hit home with us, on a day of such significance, where we are talking about the women who go missing,” LeBlond said. “Now, the dresses that signify the remembrance of them were stolen.”

The Sarnia Police Service are looking for the man who's responsible for vandalizing a display meant to honour missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Sarnia, Ont. on Feb. 15, 2023. (Source: Sarnia Police Service)

The 30-year tradition of hanging red dresses to mark the missing and murdered Indigenous women began in British Columbia.

Nearly every indigenous person has been impacted by a loss, said Dawna Smith-Sutherland. She is the executive director of the Native Friendship Centre.

She added not all those missing and murdered are female.

“For me, I’ve lost a cousin and an uncle. Both were murdered. It has an impact,” she said.

The red dresses were taken from city hall at about 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 14.

The Sarnia-Lambton Native Friendship Centre in Sarnia, Ont. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

While they may not be of great material value, the Sarnia Police Service recognizes their greater meaning.

Const. Giovanni Sotosanti said officers are actively seeking the suspect.

“Unfortunately, we can’t exclude that this may have been some sort of hate crime, or of that nature,” he said. “But we can’t confirm that yet either.”

The public is encouraged to contact Sarnia police if they can help to identify the suspect at 510-344-8861 ext. 6197.

Const. Giovanni Sotosanti of the Sarnia Police Service. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London)

If an arrest is made, LeBond said she’ll want them to answer one question.

“Why did you need to do that on such a day of significance to our community?” she said.

A day which will be even larger next year, according to Smith-Sutherland. She said it’s important to come back strong while working to educate the community.