Friends of a 60-year-old Yellowknife woman, who hasn’t been seen or heard from since Boxing Day, appealed for her to get in touch with them.
“We miss you. We’re concerned about you. Your friends, your whole community is looking for you,” said Val Braden, a friend of Sladjana Petrovic. “If you’re fine, wonderful, please get in touch with us. We love you. We miss you. We hope you’re doing okay.”
Joining Braden at a press conference Friday was friend Elizabeta Alaga and MLA for Yellowknife Centre Julie Green, who knows Petrovic from her biannual Yes We Care day.
Petrovic was first reported missing by friends in the last week of December. Police believe she was last seen December 26 in the downtown Yellowknife area. Staff Sgt Yannick Hamel stated in an earlier news release that it was “unusual” for Petrovic not to have had activity or contact with the people she knows or the places she usually frequents.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“It just seems very unusual, we can’t understand it. She has a routine that she loves and she does the same things every week and to not do those routine things is very unusual,” Braden said.
Petrovic lives downtown, police say, and according to posters up around Yellowknife she often walks between her home, the library, the grocery store and the Salvation Army.
Alaga said she is worried about her friend and urged her to contact her friends and take the medication she needs. “Sladjana, you need medication and without that you know that you will get so sick,” Alaga appealed.
Not able to disclose what Sladjana needs medication for, Alaga said her friend was assisted by the Salvation Army to receive daily medication and other assistance such as shopping. “She had some disabilities, but we don’t want to talk about that. If we talk about that we have no time for love. And we love Sladjana,” she said.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
Posters put up around Yellowknife describe Petrovic as a quiet and gentle person. Green said the holidays, as well as the fact that she has a small circle of friends, have been challenging in getting the word out about her disappearance.
One of the more than 100 posters up around Yellowknife, appealing for people to help find Petrovic.
Petrovic is of Serbian origin and English is her second language – Braden said she would have no problem communicating in English. “Sladjana is a very intelligent and educated woman,” Alaga said. “She has a degree of university of economy. She has read more books than we will ever know.”
Petrovic has gone missing once before when she was ill, Alaga said, she was missing for a few days in the Edmonton area.
Taking questions Friday, Staff Sgt Yannick Hamel said Petrovic could be in Yellowknife or elsewhere, therefore the appeal in locating her extends beyond the city. Hamel also confirmed that Yellowknife Search and Rescue are involved in an urban search for Petrovic Friday.
An RCMP handout photo of Sladjana Petrovic, reportedly last seen in Yellowknife December 26.
Police described Petrovic as a Caucasian woman, 5 ft 7 in tall and 257 lbs, with shoulder-length salt-and-pepper hair and blue eyes.
RCMP said she may be wearing a blue jacket and running shoes, and a satchel style purse.
If you have any information, police ask that you contact the Yellowknife detachment at 867-669-1111 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS.
