When the filmmakers behind the documentary Finding Jodi embarked on an awareness campaign in Drayton Valley, Alta., earlier this year, they weren’t expecting such an overwhelming response. They thought prairie locals would be unfamiliar with the missing Squamish teen whose disappearance triggered their investigation, but they were wrong.
Jodi Henrickson, a 17-year-old who went missing after leaving a Bowen Island party during Father’s Day weekend in 2009 was on everybody's lips.
“Our hope with this campaign was that people with less of an online presence would see the physical posters and billboards, and Jodi would become a subject of conversation with people we hadn’t reached yet. I’m pleased to say that it was successful, but successful in a surprising way,” filmmaker Jenny Baynham told The Squamish Chief.
“It’s different on Bowen Island and in Squamish, which is where she was from and everyone knows about her. When we went to Drayton Valley, though, which is an hour outside Edmonton, we thought it would be a big reveal, but actually my phone started ringing off the hook and suddenly all my texts were area code 780.”
The significance of the town is that the film crew believes it is the current residence of someone who has been of interest in the case.
“Everyone in Drayton Valley knew her name and had been holding her memory alive for over a decade. It was kind of beautiful because for her parents, they were wondering ‘does anyone care?’ and there are 7,000 people in this town and to have them all know her and champion her was very emotional for them.”
The team behind Finding Jodi has been investigating her disappearance for years now, working towards a completion date for the documentary of April 2026. A recent search by the Canadian Cadaver Canines on Bowen Island was triggered by a tip the crew received and resulted in soil samples that are currently being tested.
“A group of them came over and searched the area of interest, then we called homicide and they took it from there.”
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) is responsible for Hendrickson’s case.
“The investigation into the murder of Jodi Henrickson is an active and open investigation, and we are unable to share any further details,” a spokesperson for IHIT told The Squamish Chief on July 22.
“We urge anyone with information to contact IHIT investigators.”
For Baynham, frustration is mounting as the team continues to share information and what they see as evidence about Henrickson with law enforcement, without any arrests following.
Baynham said she is becoming disillusioned with the criminal justice process.
She said that the safety of women—especially vulnerable women—seems like such a low priority.
“I always thought the system was there to protect us, which was privileged and naive of me. It’s not in my nature to be critical of law enforcement, but I do feel frustrated.”
Regardless of the outcome of the film or any criminal case, Henrickson's memory is very much alive.
“There’s been a beautiful evolution in this story, of people just talking about her and talking about this. It’s nice to have her living in the sunshine,” she said.
“But I have been personally horrified, thinking what if one of my loved ones goes missing and doesn’t get found in the first month? They’ll end up on a shelf with 1,800 other files, and even if a documentary team gets involved and provides item after item of leads, we’ll still not see any urgency. Violence is happening today, right now, so how can we sit back and see the same patterns emerge that resulted in someone dying 16 years ago. How can that be allowed to continue?”
Anyone with more information on the disappearance is asked to contact investigators at 1-877-551-4448 or via email at [email protected].
