A woman accused of faking her own death and that of her son says she left Saskatoon because she feared for their safety.
Dawn Marie Walker, 48, is in custody at the Multnomah County detention centre in Oregon.
She was arrested Friday in Oregon City by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and charged with two offences for allegedly using fake identities to cross into the country with her seven-year-old son. The boy has since been returned to Canada.
“So many women and children before us have had to run for their lives to protect their children,” Walker said in a statement provided to The Canadian Press.
Saskatchewan lawyer Eleanore Sunchild spoke with Walker on Monday and dictated Walker’s words.
In the statement, Walker said she was failed by the Saskatchewan justice system because “nothing was done” after she reported domestic abuse to police and child protection authorities.
She said she witnessed something with her son that scared her to the core and she has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She said more information will come out in time.
“I apologize to anyone I hurt,” Walker said.
“I was left with no choice. No one heard me. I loved my son ... very much. He is my only child, and I would do absolutely anything for him.”
For two weeks prior, RCMP and Saskatoon police investigated the disappearance as a missing person’s case. Walker’s pickup truck was found at a park south of Saskatoon, along with some of her belongings, and some people feared Walker and her son had drowned in the South Saskatchewan River.
