Stella Mary RICH Missing Person Case

Stella Mary

RICH

54

4

Indigenous

Female

In the early morning hours of April 10, 1976, a tragic incident unfolded in the small community of North West River, Newfoundland and Labrador, leading to the disappearance of four-year-old Stella Mary Rich. The young Indigenous girl was a passenger on a snowmobile, accompanied by two adults, as it traveled across the frozen surface of the harbor. The tranquility of the night was shattered at approximately 3:00 am when the snowmobile encountered a soft patch in the ice, causing the machine to break through. In the ensuing chaos, Stella Mary was thrown from the snowmobile and tragically swept away by the current under the ice. At the time she was last seen, Stella Mary was wearing a green jacket and green pants. The remote and harsh environment of a Newfoundland and Labrador winter would have made immediate search and rescue efforts incredibly challenging. The frigid waters and the powerful currents beneath the ice presented insurmountable obstacles for those desperately trying to locate the young child in the aftermath of the accident. The hope of finding her alive would have diminished with each passing moment in the unforgiving conditions. Despite the passage of many years, the body of Stella Mary Rich has never been recovered. She is presumed to have drowned in the icy waters of the harbor that night. The case remains a sorrowful chapter in the history of the region, a painful reminder of a young life lost to a sudden and unforeseen tragedy. The lack of a final resting place has undoubtedly left a lasting wound for her family and community. The overview of this case is one of a heartbreaking accident, where a young child was lost to the elements, and the recovery of her remains has proven to be an enduring impossibility, leaving her official status as a long-term missing person.

Jacket Green Pants Green

Apr 10, 1976

North West River

Newfoundland & Labrador

Sheshatshiu RCMP

Sheshatshiu

Newfoundland & Labrador

709-497-8700

709-497-8700

Law Enforcement

2015261238

Sheshatshiu RCMP

Black

Brown

Brown

No