Manitoba missing woman task force criticized

Themother of a Winnipeg woman missing for more than two years is criticizing efforts by policecharged withreviewing unsolved cases of murdered and missing women in Manitoba.

Claudette Osborne disappeared on July 24, 2008, and was last seen on McPhillips Street after leaving the Lincoln Hotel. Police said she may have been involved in a confrontation.

The mother of four young children hasnot been heard from since.

On Tuesday, members of her family completed an 800-kilometre walk south to Winnipeg from the First Nations community of Norway House.

The walk was to protest perceived inaction bythe police task force set up a year ago to investigate cases like Osborne's and to raise awareness abouther and other unsolved cases.

Osborne's mother, Brenda Osborne, told CBC News that neither she nor anyone else inher family has been approached by a member of the task force to talk about her daughter's disappearance. Nor have they been told if any progress has been made in her case.

"I haven't even heard from them," Osborne said.

'Our thoughts are always with the families.' RCMP Const. Miles Hiebert

She said she wants theunit overhauled so there's better communication between police assigned to it and families.

But an RCMP spokesman said officers are hard at work sifting through files and trying to find connections that will lead to answers for worried families.

There is no intention to avoid contact with families, Const. Miles Hiebert said.

"Our thoughts are always with the families. We're always thinking about them," he said.

Claudette Osborne is described as five-foot-seven, weighing about 145 pounds. She has long, black hair and was last seen wearing black pin-striped pants and a black V-necked T-shirt with a ruffled collar.

Anyone with information on Osborne's whereabouts is asked to contact the Winnipeg police missing persons unit at (204) 986-6050 or Crime Stoppers at 1-204-786-TIPS (8477).