Almost two months since he was seen alive by his family and six weeks since he was found dead, the family of Trevin Steele are hoping somebody, somewhere, can help find his killers.
The 24-year-old man was last seen alive May 24 in Creighton. On June 2, after a days-long search, Trevin was found dead in a home in Flin Flon. Police believe he was the victim of a homicide - the biggest questions left now are who did it and why.
RCMP are still investigating Trevin’s death and have not announced any suspects or arrests yet in the case. While police search for whoever killed Trevin, his family members and friends are unwilling to go down quietly.
A grassroots campaign has started around Flin Flon and the surrounding area, with posters, stickers, signs, billboards and storefronts each bearing Trevin’s face and the slogan “#justicefortrevin”. A memorial to Trevin was put up on a power pole on the south end of Main Street by family members and friends July 15, paying tribute to a man remembered as a warm-hearted jokester, someone who stuck up for his friends and protected against bullies.
“He was funny, smart, witty,” said Kris, his mother.
“He was very kind though. He would always have a smile or if there was somebody new in the room, he was always the first one to go and make a friend with them. Quite a few of his friends were newcomers to town and he'd always, if there was a newcomer in his class, make friends with them first and then get them included in groups of his friends. He stuck up for everybody - if he saw somebody being bullied, he'd go over and say something or stop it. He was always there to defend people.”
“He was always joking around - lots of times at my expense, but he was still funny - like, ‘ah, f***, that was a good one,’” said Tieryn Steele, Trevin’s older sister.
“We fought hard sometimes, but we loved each other. He was always in your corner.”
Struggle
At some point along the way, Trevin fell into a period of addiction, said his family members. He left his family's home earlier this year for a time as his addiction intensified.
“Trevin got mixed up in the wrong crowd. In the last year, he was struggling,” said Kris.
“He wasn’t in that crowd for very long, but within the last year, he just went down a dark path.”
Earlier this spring, Trevin returned, calling his family and saying he was ready to get help to sort out his addiction. He moved back home and tried to avoid drugs.
“We told him any time he wanted to come home and wanted help, we would be here. A few weeks before he went missing, he gave us a call and said, ‘I want to come home,’” said Kris.
“He said he wanted to try and get it together, get back on track, go back to work. He wanted to stop with the drugs. He came home. We always said, “you can stay with us, come home and we’ll figure it out,” said Tieryn.
While Trevin was able to stay away from drugs for a time while he moved back, the hooks were deep. He relapsed, falling back into old habits and leaving home again for a short time.
“It happens without you even realizing it’s happening,” said Kevin, Trevin’s father.
“By the time you realize that it’s happening, you’ve got a real battle on your hands, an inner battle.”
“There are bumps in the road. You’ve just got to start again the next minute, let’s take it from here right now. That’s what we said to him, when he had a slip-up - we just start again. The struggle is real, but bear with it, because it’s worth it in the end,” Kris said.
“It’s been a rough road. We were trying to help him detox. We were trying to talk to him, ask why he felt like he was on that road, trying to help him see that getting on the right road again was the best thing. He was struggling, struggling with addiction - it’s a fight. It’s a battle.”
Sadly for the family, around Trevin’s 24th birthday - May 22 - he left home again. He didn’t get a chance to come back.
“I was holding down the fort at home, watching our dogs. He was supposed to come home and take care of his cat, but he didn’t come home - which was a little weird, because he had been home,” said Tieryn.
“He’d just turned 24, he has his friends, it wasn’t abnormal for him to not be home for a couple of days - but by the time Monday rolled around, I just had this really sinking feeling - we couldn’t get a hold of him all weekend, something was wrong.”
The Steeles reported Trevin missing and went on a search throughout town for him, coming up empty. Police conducted searches of their own, but while the Mounties eventually got their man, they arrived too late to save Trevin.
“It was definitely the hardest moment of my life,” said Tieryn, of being told by police that Trevin’s body had been found.
“We tried to have a lot of hope that week he was missing. There were a lot of emotions leading up to that - we thought maybe he was hiding somewhere or having fun some place, where we’ll give him a hug and kick his ass for not messaging us. When they told us Sunday, we weren’t prepared for that - you never can be… my heart f****** shattered.”
Kris said the news of her son’s murder was “like the world just dropped out from under our feet. It was absolutely devastating.”
“When they came to tell us they found him, it was just completely earthshattering.”
“It’s hard to know that somebody took his life,” said Tieryn. She said Luna, Trevin’s kitten, still runs to the door when she hears someone, perking up, thinking Trevin has come back.
“It wasn’t a tragic accident. Somebody took him from us. I think that’s the hardest part to grasp.”
Finding answers
The Steeles began looking for information into Trevin’s murder while the grief was still fresh. Those efforts ramped up after his funeral June 14, when the family began creating signs, asking for anyone with information to come forward.
At first, Kris and Tieryn began making handwritten and handcut posters, asking business owners uptown to help get the word out. That led to making more posters, then Flin Flonners contacting the Steeles to get a sign or poster of their own to try and help out.
From there, a family friend ordered vehicle decals bearing the words “#justicefortrevin”. Another family friend made lawn signs - yet another made stickers. Billboard signs along Flin Flon streets and roadways each bear the words “#justicefortrevin” in all-caps bold font, along with the phone numbers for Flin Flon RCMP and Crime Stoppers.
“It’s showed us that this community is really behind us. It really grew from there - I think we made 20 posters in one day and they all went out,” said Tieryn.
“It’s been overwhelming, the support from everybody. It’s like we have an idea and somebody brings it to life for us,” said Kris.
“We’re doing what we can - this is what we can do, we can keep it going, keep it alive, keep it in their faces, keep the public supporting us. That’s what we’re going to do, until we get justice.”
The grief over Trevin’s death has helped the Steele family and their friends stay motivated, printing out more signs and finishing more posters. Posters can be found at Super K Esso on South Main Street, while they last - even with dozens of signs up in the front windows of local homes and businesses, more people are still enquiring and it’s been hard to keep up with the demand.
“It grows every day - and you know, it's not just us wanting justice. It's the whole community,” said Kris.
“At the beginning, I wasn't able to concentrate or focus on anything. Now this has just lit a fire in me and in us. We're determined to do what we can to bring awareness and help or get people to talk.”
That grief has, at times, turned to impatience with the investigation. Kris said that the investigation into her son’s murder is taking time, but she urged patience while police try to get it right.
“I know lots of people around town are getting mad, saying, ‘How come there hasn't been an arrest yet?’ or ‘How come nothing's happening?’ They are working on it. We know they are - we are in touch with them, but unfortunately, we do have to wait,” she said.
Tieryn hopes that her brother’s murder may help push toward better access for addiction treatment and support in Flin Flon - “We definitely need more supports within our community to help people who are struggling,” she said.
“We need better treatment options that are inpatient or outpatient, we need more than an AA or an NA meeting once a week for people - if those services existed here, maybe it never would have led to this.”
The signs, posters and overall presence have two goals - first to try and find as much information as possible about what happened to Trevin, then to remind his killer or killers that Flin Flon won’t forget what they've done.
“Everywhere they go, every store they go into, they’re going to see his picture there and be reminded - ‘We’re not forgetting what you did. Whoever you are, we’re not going to forget,’” said Kris.
“We and the town, we need justice for Trevin. We need that,” said Kevin.
“I want the people who did this to know they are not going to get away with it, that this town won't stand for this. Trevin was a beautiful kid and we all make mistakes, but we all deserve second chances. We're going to fight for justice for him," said Tieryn.
Anyone with information about Trevin’s death or disappearance is asked to contact Flin Flon RCMP at (204) 687-1423 or Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800--222-TIPS (1-800-222-8477) or manitobacrimestoppers.com.
