5 years after Alaska Native woman went missing, loved ones protest Anchorage police handling of investigation
Family demands answers in Cassandra Boskofsky’s disappearance outside APD headquarters
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Displaying red hand prints over their mouths as they protested in the rain, nearly five years after Cassandra Boskofsky disappeared, her loved ones and supporters used the symbol of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Movement to protest what they say has been Anchorage police’s negligence and mishandling of the case outside APD headquarters.
“I would like APD to reopen the investigation,” Boskofsky’s cousin Marcella Irene Boskofsky-Grounds said. “You guys need to do better. Way better.”
Boskofsky-Grounds was among the crowd Friday holding various signs calling for accountability while chanting from across the street of the APD headquarters downtown.
A family affidavit shows Boskofsky-Grounds reporting her cousin missing on Aug. 28, 2019, after stating she was seen for the last time on Aug. 3 of that month.
Outside of those few details, very little information has been made available regarding her case.
MMIW advocate Antonia Commack said she has been following the case closely for quite some time, taking to social media to keep Boskofsky’s story alive.
“I think that the public needs to know that APD ignored this case for so long,” Commack said. “They need to be held accountable, whether it’s in court, or they publicly acknowledged what they did, but this can’t be swept under the rug because it just shows how little they care about missing and murdered Indigenous women.”
Alaska’s News Source reached out to the Anchorage Police Department for a response, but was still waiting to hear back as of Friday evening.
“Our goals with the protest is just to raise awareness about Cassandra because she’s been forgotten for five years,” Commack added. “We’re demanding that they tell us where they searched, if they searched, and where we can search, because we just want to bring her home to her family.”
A $500 reward is being offered for anyone who can provide information that leads to Boskofsky’s whereabouts. Information can be reported at alaskathemissing@gmail.com .
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