E-Pana facts for kids

Project E-Pana is a special team from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). This team was started in 2005 to help solve cases of people who went missing or were murdered. These cases happened along a part of Highway 16 in British Columbia, Canada. This area is sometimes called the Highway of Tears.

At first, Project E-Pana focused only on cases along Highway 16. But within a year, the team also began looking into cases along other highways, like Highways 5, 24, and 97. So, it now helps with cases beyond just the Highway of Tears.

Where Did the Name E-Pana Come From?

The name E-Pana was chosen carefully. The "E" comes from "E" Division, which is the part of the RCMP that works in British Columbia (BC).

The word Pana comes from Inuit mythology. Pana is the name of an Inuit goddess. She is believed to look after the souls of people before they go to heaven or are reborn.

This special team was created in the fall of 2005. Its main goal was to investigate many unsolved cases of people who had disappeared or were murdered along BC's Highway of Tears.

How Project E-Pana Was Supported

Project E-Pana needed money and people to do its important work. In the year 2009-2010, the team received more than five million dollars to help with its investigations.

However, over time, the amount of money the team received went down a lot. This was because of budget cuts. By the year 2013-2014, they received only $806,109.

In 2013, a senior RCMP officer named Craig Callens said that if the government cut the budget even more, it would make it very hard for the team to continue their investigations. By 2014, the number of officers working on the team had also dropped. It went from seventy officers in 2010 down to just twelve.

See also

• List of people who disappeared