With the help of a video posted by the victim's daughter, the Valemount RCMP has renewed a call for the public's help to get to the bottom of a fatal hit and run slightly more than a year ago.
Slightly before midnight on July 4, 2023, Claire Newman was struck and killed on Highway 16 near the Lucerne campground in Mount Robson Provincial Park.
Newman was a noted member of the Merritt and Logan Lake communities where she was involved in municipal politics and the community forest.
Her daughter, Lauren Newman, recently took to video to urge anyone with information to come forward.
"With the year marker coming up of my mom's passing, we have come through a lot of rough challenges over this year. We have had her service on September 2023," she said.
"Lots of people came and said beautiful things and were very honouring of her. But I would say not having my mother to talk to and be there to give me that advice really is a hard thing to deal with and shouldn't have been this way that she passed."
She continued, urging the driver to take responsibility for what happened.
"Car accidents happen all the time. Things happen all the time. But that doesn't mean you can't do the right thing and come forward and give people the closure they need. If anybody knows anything or has any leads or tips, please contact the Valemount RCMP.
The suspect vehicle has been identified as a 2016-2018 Jeep Cherokee. It was seen heading east along Highway 16 at the Parks Canada gate, west of Jasper.
"Unfortunately, the license plate number is not visible and there is no front plate on the vehicle," Valemount RCMP said in a press release issued at the time.
"Once the vehicle passed through the Parks Canada gate, it is unknown if the vehicle travelled south toward Banff or east toward Edmonton. Police checked video surveillance at gas stations in both Jasper and Hinton, Alberta, but the suspect vehicle was not seen on video."
Anyone with tips about the incident, no matter how minor the information may seem, is urged to contact the Valemount RCMP detachment at 250-566-4466 or Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 222-8477.
