Nunavik community says video footage could lead to teen’s killer

Bethany Nastapoka, 14, was found dead in her home community of Inukjuak July 22. Police investigators returned to Inukjuak this week to continue to look for clues in her unexplained death. (FACEBOOK IMAGE)

Quebec provincial police investigators have returned to Nunavik to look into the unsolved July death of an Inukjuak teenager.

Bethany Nastapoka, 14, was found dead July 22 not far from her home in the Hudson coast community.

The Kativik Regional Police Force handed the investigation over to the Sûreté du Québec, which initially said it had evidence that suggested the teen’s death was a homicide.

But almost two months later, no arrests have been made.

SQ investigators were back in Inukjuak Sept. 12, although the police force refused comment on the ongoing investigation.

“If there was a potential danger, we would inform the community,” said SQ spokesperson, Sgt. Jean Tremblay.

But residents in this community of roughly 1,700 say security camera footage has been circulating of a man who is believed to be linked to Nastapoka’s death. An individual is seen walking back and forth in the same area Nastapoka’s body was found later the same day.

The mother of the deceased teen took to social media earlier this week to ask Inukjuammiut to go directly to police if they are able to identify the individual in the footage.

Nastapoka’s parents didn’t want to comment on the video or the investigation, but said they are anxious for police to make headway in the case.

“We have been pressuring the police to continue their investigation from up here,” said Nastapoka’s father, Jobie Epoo, a former police chief with the KRPF.

“The community is extremely concerned about the risk of this recurring.”

Nastapoka, a high school student and staffer at a local child care centre, was last seen by her family members late July 21 before telling them she was going out to ride her scooter with a friend.

When the teen didn’t return home, her parents thought she’d stayed over at a friend’s house, though they were unable to reach her all day July 22.

Though police discovered Nastapoka’s body early that Saturday evening, her family wasn’t informed about her death until the following day, July 23.

Epoo said he’s hopeful investigators will have something to report by the end of the week.

Anyone with any information on Nastapoka’s whereabouts leading up to her death should contact the KRPF in Inukjuak at (819) 254-8144.