Today marks 35 years since 18-year-old Cheri Lynn Smith was last seen alive after leaving her Regina home in search of a new beginning.
Her decision ultimately ended in tragedy.
On September 9th, 1990, her body was discovered in a wooded area near Munns Road in Saanich. She had been beaten to death and was six months pregnant.
Smith was last seen on June 4th, 1990. Her murder remains unsolved.
On Tuesday, Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers acknowledged the anniversary by issuing a renewed appeal for information.
“Smith was 18 years old and was last seen on June 4, 1990. Cheri ran away from her tight-knit, middle-class Regina family with a boy she thought she was in love with and ended up as a sex worker in Victoria. Cheri’s body was found in the Munns Road area of Saanich on September 9, 1990. She was six months pregnant and she had been beaten to death,” they said in a post shared to social media.
The case is being investigated under Saanich Police file 1990-21819.
Additional background on Smith’s life has been shared in recent years through the Sweetheart Killers podcast and a feature by CityNews Vancouver.
According to those sources, Smith was a gifted student, athlete, and musician before she began drifting from her structured home life in high school.
She eventually left Regina with a man she believed she was in love with, only to be trafficked across Western Canada before ending up in Victoria.
Despite ongoing efforts by police, no arrests have been made.
Smith’s death occurred during a time when at least two other teenage girls were trafficked and killed in the Victoria area.
17-year-old Kimberly Gallup was found strangled at the Colony Motor Inn on November 21st, 1990. Just months later, in June 1991, the body of Melissa Nicholson was discovered off a rural road near Shawnigan Lake.
At the time, media coverage often referred to the victims as “teen hookers” or prostitutes. Today, there is broader recognition that the sexual exploitation of youth is not consensual and should never be framed as such.
Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Saanich Police or submit an anonymous tip to Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477.
