Highway of tears: Women have gone missing for years

OFFICIALLY it is called Highway 16. But to many, the notorious stretch of road where dozens of women have simply disappeared or turned up dead, has come to be known as the Highway of Tears.
No one knows exactly how many have vanished along the 800km road through British Columbia in Canada, though some say the number could be as high as 40.
Signs along the highway warn of a serial killer on the loose, cautioning girls not to hitchhike, though the killer theory has not been proved.
The lack of answers only adds to the mystery, and for local people, the growing sense of alarm.
Many of the missing belong to remote indigenous communities, with little or no transport or phone coverage, and who are forced to hitchhike to get around.
Most disappeared on a remote stretch linking the cities of Prince George and Prince Rupert.
“A lot of women are forced to hitchhike along the highway because there is no other option,’’ anti-violence campaigner Wendy Kellas, who works on the Highway of Tears project to raise awareness, told news.com.au.
She said one official estimate listed 18 women as missing or murdered in the past 30 years, however indigenous communities claim that number is far higher.
READ MORE:http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/highway-of-tears-women-have-gone-missing-for-years/story-fnq2o7dd-1227186994208