In Memoriam: Rhoda Koihok Maghagak, March 4, 1955 – March 12, 2004

It has now been one year since our beloved sister, mother and daughter, Rhoda Maghagak, of Cambridge Bay, passed away violently, from a stabbing incident and yet, no one has been found by the RCMP, as to who did this nor why.

It has been a very frustrating year for our family, especially for our father, who waits patiently for news, if anyone has been found or what the RCMP has been doing about this case, without any positive news to put a proper closure on her death.

We also recognize that the police is doing all it can to find the answers for us in the Maghagak family, but the longer we wait, the heavier the burden is on all of us, because of the uncertainty of the circumstances of her death, as we know that the person or persons who killed her are still living in our community or have moved on to another community, and we’re sure he or she will do it again, because he or she got away with it, this time.

We have been kept up to date on a weekly basis since Rhoda’s death, as per our request at the time of her death from the RCMP and as always, no new news or new leads have been forthcoming from the DNA or forensics tests that they have been conducting in their labs in Edmonton and Toronto.

But a couple of men in Cambridge Bay has been threatening some of our family members and some of the caseworkers, who are not even involved in her death but are involved in the healing and counseling of our family and friends, but nothing seems done about it to curtail or to put a stop to these very mean and hurting threats that we don’t need at this time of our grieving.

I would like to thank, on behalf of my family, many, many people who have helped us walk through this tragic period of our lives, including the police officers at the Cambridge Bay detachment.

Because of your continuing support and encouragement, we have made this year a little bit easier to bear, even though we have not put a proper closure to our sister’s untimely death and therefore, we are ever grateful for your support and visits to comfort us.

We all can only hope that this matter be put to rest soon, so that we can put our lives back together and move on.

Allen Maghagak and family
Ikaluktutiak