A year after Frank Gruben's disappearance, his family still hopes for answers

A year after Frank Gruben was last seen alive, his family feels no closer to knowing his whereabouts.

Originally from Aklavik, N.W.T., Gruben was living in Fort Smith, N.W.T., when he went missing from that community on May 6, 2023 — two days after his 30th birthday.

In a recent emailed statement to CBC News, RCMP say there have been no new developments with the investigation and that police continue to urge anyone with information to come forward.

"We do not have any additional information to provide on this case at this time … our thoughts are with Frank Gruben's family during this difficult anniversary," Cpl. Matt Halstead with the N.W.T. RCMP wrote.

The seeming lack of progress with the investigation continues to frustrate Gruben's family.

"Every time they [RCMP] call us, they have nothing — no information, nothing to say," Laura Kalinek, Gruben's mother, told CBC.

"I asked him some questions and, 'oh, we're working on this then working on that' — but when they call, it's not a long conversation."

Gruben's disappearance has been brought up repeatedly in the territory's legislature. Last fall, former Nunakput MLA Jackie Jacobson told the justice minister at the time, R.J. Simpson — now premier — to "show some empathy" and ensure police were communicating with Gruben's family. MLA Lesa Semmler, now the health minister, also questioned last year whether "more would be done" if Gruben were a non-Indigenous person from a wealthy family.

Chief Supt. Syd Lecky, the head of the RCMP in the Northwest Territories, at a news conference last year about the ongoing search for Gruben. (Emily Blake/CP)

The initial search after Gruben disappeared last spring was largely community-led with residents doing a ground search around the community, while an RCMP officer was knocking on doors with volunteers.

Later that month, RCMP defended their efforts to find Gruben. In July, police told CBC News that all leads at that point had been "exhausted."

Kalinek feels that police didn't do enough, saying she's seen search and rescue efforts in other jurisdictions with "all the resources," including police and dogs.

"Poor me and my family, we went to Fort Smith [and] do you think there would be police in the search with us? No. Like who are we? Do we even exist?" Kalinek said.

"If we had all the help right from the start, I'm sure things could have been different."

RCMP earlier told CBC that the investigation was challenging because of a lack of evidence, and that there needs to be suspicion of a crime for police to get judicial authorization to access a missing person's phone, banking or social media records.

There is also no missing persons act in the N.W.T., meaning RCMP are limited in what records police can access.

Frank Gruben with his sister, Kimberlyn. (Submitted by Steven Gruben)

At the time, MLAs committed to working on such legislation and work continues now on the proposed Missing Persons Act with meetings recently held in Aklavik and Inuvik.

The new act would allow RCMP, with court approval, to access cell phone records that may indicate the device's location, travel and accommodation records, as well as personal health and financial records.

The act is slated to be before the assembly during the next sitting, and Kalinek said her family is waiting to see what will happen.

In the meantime, she said she knows police are doing their job, but she'd still like to see more done. She's also urging anyone with information to come forward.

"There's still rumours floating around, there's lots of people talking, but nobody wants to speak up," Kalinek said.

"I sure wish they would speak up and help our family. I don't think nobody deserves to go through all this suffering and pain."