31 years later, daughter wants answers about mother's murder

Panel discussion highlights MMIW cases in South Dakota

Tonya Hertel is still looking for answers about her mother’s death 31 years ago. Monica Bercier Wickre went missing from Aberdeen in April 1993. Her body was found in the James River two months later. Her unsolved case was the topic of discussion at a United We Stand presentation about Missing Murdered and Indigenous People on June 13 at the library. (Elisa Sand/Aberdeen Insider)

Even if she someday has the answers to all her questions related to her mom’s death, Tonya Hertel said the pain and the loss of losing her mother will remain.

“I don’t truly think my heart will ever be healed because that was my mom,” she said. “I can say that time does help you figure out how to navigate life.”

Hertel was part of a panel discussion that included representatives from the Aberdeen Police Department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Missing and Murdered Unit that was part of a United We Stand: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons event June 13 at the K.O. Lee Aberdeen Public Library.

The discussion and exhibit represented just a fraction of the cases involving missing and murdered Native Americans across the country.

Hertel’s mom, Monica Bercier Wickre, disappeared from Aberdeen in April 1993.

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