Daughter of Drag the Red co-founder will help keep search of Red River alive after her father's death

Kyle Kematchspent years searching Winnipeg's Red River to giveclosureto the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

After his passing last week, Kematch'soldestdaughter now hopes to find closure herself by searching the sameriver.

Kyrra Kematch, 16,is planning tojoin Drag the Red, the group her father helped launch. These volunteers searchthe river's murky waters for anyclues into unsolved cases.

"He did it because peopleweren't looking for them or stopped, and he wanted to find them. Because ifthey're not looking, who's looking?" Kyrra said.

"I want to carry that on."

Kematch died last Thursday. He leaves behind four children.

He's remembered as a selfless man who spent years tirelessly searching the Red River and its banks for any clues into the disappearances and murders of too many Manitobans.

Kematch was also looking for any signs of his sister, Amber Guiboche, who disappearedin 2010.

Kyrra said she always admired her father for never giving up hope for his sister and many others.

"I really, really liked that he did [Drag the Red]and I like the reasons he did it," she said. "I want to become closer with him."

Kyrra was raised by her mother and her father wasn't always around, but their bond was tight.

"He alwaysasked my mom how Iwas and got pictures of me, and he always told me how much he loves me, how much he cares for meand how much he wants me to be happy."

She has fond memories of learning to play baseball with a battoo big for her, and standing on her father's hand at the beach.

Her mother,Jamie Septon, has asked the organizers of Drag the Red if Kyrra can jointhem, and they're eager. Kyrra is planning to take the boat onto the water for the first time Wednesday with group co-founder Bernadette Smith, spreadingtobacco into the river in her father's honour.

She plans to join the group of draggers after that.

"Even though he wasgoing through pain, missing Amber, he kept looking for [her] and looking for the other families.I want to keep doing that under his name," Kyrra said.

Mourningyet still searching

It's possible Drag the Red wouldn't exist if it wasn't for Kematch.

It was Smith, now a Point Douglas MLA, who was pleading with police to search the river for clues of other deaths,after Tina Fontaine's body was pulled from the river in August2014, shocking the country. The police wouldn't go looking without evidence, Smithrecalls.

She said it was Kematch who suggested they take matters into their own hands.

"Itquickly went from the police not wanting to do it to Kyle coming forward and saying, 'Let's do it,'" said Smith, whose sister Claudette Osborne vanished in 2008.

For years, he went out there almost daily, searching the river using hooks and chainswhen the water wasn't frozen. Kematchhelpedbring home the loved ones of somefamilies,Smith said.

He was in the boat whenShawn Nepinak's body was recovered, shesaid. In response,Nepinak's cousin,KayleenMcKay, ran 450 kilometres in 11 daysto raise thousands of dollars for Drag the Red and the work they do.

Kematch's impact on the community was significant, as he raised awareness for his sister's disappearance and amplified the issue of missing and murderedIndigenous women and girls, Smith said.

"Kyle was someone whojusthad this aura about him, this energy. He was always positive. He was always kind."

And he was happy to teach anybody who wanted to learn to searchthe river.

While he never got the chance to teach his daughter,his motivation to scour those waters will neverbe far from her mind when she's in the Drag the Red boat.

"I really love him and I misshim," Kyrra said, fightingback tears.

A pipe ceremony and feast in honour ofKematchwill take place Thursday at 6 p.m. under the Redwood Bridge, overlooking the Red River.

Carrying on her father's legacy

3 years ago

Duration 1:56

Kyle Kematch spent years searching Winnipeg's Red River to give closure to the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. He was also looking for any signs of his sister, Amber Guiboche, who disappeared in 2010. After his passing last week, Kematch's oldest daughter now hopes to find closure herself by searching the same river.