Friends and family held a vigil Tuesday for a woman whose suspicious death has sparked an investigation by the province's police watchdog over how Prince George RCMP have handled the matter.
Mariluisa Mycock (nee Goyas), was remembered as a loving mother and caring person who loved children and was a well-known member of the city's Latino community.
About a dozen people gathered on 12th Avenue, between Burden and Alward Streets, to plant a cross and leave flowers in her memory.
The site is close to where she was initially found on the night of March 5. She was rushed to University Hospital of Northern British Columbia, barely a block away, but later died from her injuries.
"She was a very loving mother," said husband Dan Mycock. "Everyone she met, she pretty much made friends with immediately."
While Dan has lived in Prince George for most of his life, Mariluisa hails from Peru.
They had met through an internet dating service and after six months of sending each other letters, he flew to Peru to meet her and by mid-1999, Mariluisa had moved up here and embraced the northern lifestyle.
They had two children together, now ages 11 and 15 years old. And just last year, she had earned her qualifications to become a teaching assistant and was working at the Nusdeh Yoh Aboriginal Choice School.
Her mother, Marcela, and a brother, Carlos, followed her to Prince George and Marcela also married a local man, Dave Waddell.
"She was a fine person," Waddell said of his stepdaughter. "She cared about her kids and her family."
On the night in question, Mariluisa was visiting her brother, who lives at the corner of 12th and Alward.
For reasons not yet made clear, RCMP showed up shortly before 10 p.m. responding to a complaint of a disturbance. They talked to Carlos but by then, Mariluisa had left.
About 20 minutes later, police were called to a report that a woman, who turned out to be Mariluisa, was found at the end of a nearby alley in what police have described as "medical distress." The coroner later told her family her injuries were consistent with being hit by a vehicle.
But beyond that, they said details have been sparse. And while the Prince George RCMP's serious crimes unit was called in to investigate, no arrests have been made.
Because of the time it took between the initial call and finding Mariluisa, the Independent Investigations Office, which investigates police-related deaths and serious injuries, was also called in to determine if there was a connection between her death and the actions of the officers.
A report from the IIO remains pending.
"It's been frustrating and pretty much every other emotion you can imagine," Mycock said.
A formal service will be held for Mariluisa this Saturday at the Christ Our Saviour Church, 4514 Austin Rd., noon start.
