MISSING: Loretta Ann Frank (1988) - Whitehorse, Yukon

MissingInternational ConnectionYukonMMIWG1980s1980s Missing
Written By SM
By: S.M. 
Published June 22, 2020
 
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Loretta “Lora” Ann Frank

Missing since late 1988 / early 1989 

Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada

Loretta "Lora" Ann Frank

Note: This story has been updated. A previous version stated Loretta grew up in Lower Point. The correct name is Lower Post.

Loretta “Lora” Ann Frank had a shy disposition. The youngest of five children, she grew up in Lower Post, British Columbia - about 20 km south of the Yukon border.


As a teenager, Loretta was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Sometime in 1986 or 1987, she moved to Watson Lake, Yukon, and lived with one of her brothers and his spouse. She saw a psychiatrist once a month. 


Watson Lake had no established psychiatrists, and the revolving roster of doctors meant Lora had difficulty finding adequate treatment. After one year in Watson Lake, she moved 438 km west, to Whitehorse, Yukon. The city’s social services seemed to better suit her needs; she lived in an assisted living facility and soon found employment.

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Thanksgiving - 1988

Several months later, over Thanksgiving weekend in 1988, 19-year-old Lora visited her family in Watson Lake. She said she was unhappy in Whitehorse and wanted to move back to Watson Lake. Concerned about the lack of resources in Watson Lake, her family disagreed with the idea.

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Lora returned to Whitehorse. Her family never saw her again. 

According to her friends, Lora might have been dating a man from Haines, Alaska, before her disappearance. His identity remains unknown. 

By early 1989, Lora’s family had begun searching for her. They say they reported her missing to police, who quickly dismissed her as a runaway. The RCMP denies having received a report until 1993, and blame her family for the delay.

By the time an official investigation was opened, five years had passed since Loretta Frank was last seen. In 1994, investigators checked hospitals and government agencies in Canada and the U.S., but no sign of Loretta Frank was ever found.

The delay in the investigation of Loretta Frank’s disappearance is yet another example of systemic apathy toward missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada.

Loretta Frank sometimes goes by Lora. She is described as Indigenous, 5’8” and approximately 100 lbs. She is a member of the Tahtlan First Nation of British Columbia, and wore prescription glasses at the time of her disappearance.


After 31 years, her family still hopes for her to come home. She would now be 50 years old.

All information in this story was gathered through historical newspaper archives and databases. Please see below for a full list of resources used.

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Physical Characteristics & Details:

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Agency Contact Information:

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MISSING: The Jack Family - 08/02/1989 - Prince George, B.C.