Everything we know about Dawn Walker (2025)

DAWN Walker and her 7-year-old son disappeared without a trace in the summer of 2022.

Weeks later, cops found the famous author and her son safe and sound in Oregon.

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Who is Dawn Walker?

Dawn Walker was born and raised in the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada.

She graduated with a degree in English from the University of Saskatchewan in 1995.

Walker later went on to receive a law degree from Queen's University in Ontario.

In 2011, Walker published her first book, Nobody Cries at Bingo, a fictionalized account of her own life growing up on a reserve.

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The book, inspired by the writing of David Sedaris, was shortlisted for an Alberta Reader's Choice Award in 2012.

She went on to write Rose's Run in 2014, about a single mother who enters a marathon.

The novel won the 2015 Saskatchewan Book Award for Fiction.

Walker typically wrote under the pen name Dawn Dumont.

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In addition to writing, Walker also served as the Executive Operating Officer of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) starting in 2016.

She also performed stand-up comedy at the Comic Strip in New York.

When did she go missing?

On July 24, 2022, Walker and her seven-year-old son, Vincent Jansen, were reported missing.

Walker's truck and personal items were found abandoned near Saskatoon's Chief Whitecap Park.

Their mysterious disappearance immediately sparked several high-profile searches.

The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Vice Chief Heather Bear alleged that Walker had previously been a victim of domestic violence.

Walker's friend, Eleanore Sunchild, also said Walker had previously reported the abuse to the police, who did nothing.

While she was missing, Walker's latest book, The Prairie Chicken Dance Tour, was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

Some individuals speculated that Walker, who was an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, was somehow connected to the crisis after her disappearance.

A candlelight vigil and rally was held in Walker's honor in Saskatchewan.

A GoFundMe was also set up to help cover costs associated with the search for the mother and son.

When was Dawn Walker found?

Walker and Jansen were found at a rental property in Oregon City, Oregon on August 5, 2022.

The Saskatoon Police Service and Homeland Security were in charge of the investigation.

They had tracked her by following bank transactions for gas, food, and Airbnb rentals.

Court documents alleged that Walker faked her death – and her son's – as part of an elaborate ruse to enter the US illegally.

Police later charged her with multiple offenses, including parental abduction, identity fraud and theft, and forging a passport.

Walker was handed over to Canadian authorities and her son was removed from her care.

The BBC reported that upon her arrest, Walker released a statement through a friend, saying she: "was left with no choice. No one heard me."

She claimed that she faked her disappearance because she felt as though both she and her son were facing harm.

Walker said: "I am fighting systems that continuously fail to protect me as an Indigenous woman and protect non-Indigenous men."

According to 2021 data by Statistics Canada, Indigenous women are incarcerated at a rate that is 15 times higher than non-Indigenous women.

In 2022, Indigenous women made up just 5 percent of Canada's female population but were also half of all female inmates in Canada's federal prisons.

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Though Walker initially pled not guilty to the charges she was facing, on November 2, 2023, she pleaded guilty to three of the charges against her, including child abduction.

Judge Brad Mitchell sentenced Walker to a one-year conditional sentence, requiring her to serve time in the community, along with 18 months of probation.

Walker is also prohibited from seeing her son without supervision.

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Walker's attorney, Marie Henein, had previously told Saskatoon's CTV News that: "Dawn's voice will not be silenced."

In a statement to the court, Walker said: "I am truly sorry for my actions. I cannot change what I did, but I will learn from it, grow from it, and help others."

Everything we know about Dawn Walker (2025)
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