Merritt resident Tara Moran is pictured in this undated photo.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Caitlin Moran

A father in Merritt is desperately searching for his daughter since she went missing almost two months ago.

Patrick Moran’s daughter Tara Moran, 27, was last seen in Merritt on Jan. 31. Her addiction to drugs and alcohol, and a high-risk lifestyle has the father fearing for his daughter’s life.

“It’s extremely tough, you hope she’s OK but there's fear she isn’t and I know the kinds of people she was associating with,” he said. “She’s a young, attractive and vulnerable person, and people will see that as a way to get what they want.”

Tara had been living at a local shelter for roughly a year and a half where the family was in contact with her regularly. This is the first time she stopped all contact with family members.

“There were a couple of times where she strayed from the shelter but was still in town, she’d found another place for a short time but returned,” Patrick said. “The shelter is a rough, scary spot but there is good stuff and people trying to help there, and we knew where she was.”

Patrick said his daughter was a normal kid growing up. She was a competitive dancer and did well at school when the family lived in White Rock. After a move to the Kootenays things were still going well. But his daughter’s life began to shift when she went to makeup school in Vancouver roughly four years ago.

“Things started going awry,” he said. “She ran into a guy who introduced her to meth and other stuff, it wasn’t a good situation and from then on it was pretty rocky.”

The family convinced Tara to move back in with them at their current residence in Merritt two years ago. She was addicted to methamphetamine and alcohol.

“That was volatile because of her drug use and mood swings, it was tough and at a certain point we couldn’t have it anymore, it was toxic, it wasn’t working. We wanted to help her, we offered help, but she wasn’t interested.”

Tara ended up moving into a local shelter. Late last year, the family made another attempt to get her into a treatment facility, even hiring an interventionist to persuade her to accept help but she wouldn’t go.

Since his daughter's disappearance Patrick has put posters of her around Merritt, Kamloops and the Okanagan. He recently went to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside with his other daughter.

“We spent a couple of days on the Downtown Eastside at the shelters, safe injection sites and basically everywhere, talking to people on the street,” he said. “It’s a rough community but it is definitely a community and there are lots of people that really care there.”

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The family thinks Tara may have gone back to Vancouver where she once attended school because the terrain there is familiar to her.

Tara’s disappearance has caused the family stress and many sleepless nights.

“It's taken a huge toll on the family and community, we’re all just trying to cope.”

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While there is often stigma around drug users and the many people living high-risk lifestyles, Patrick isn't concerned about what other people think.

“We’re pretty straight forward about it... I worry about the wellbeing of our daughter. We want to know what’s wrong and how to help her.”

When asked what advice he has for other families going through similar tragedies, Patrick said the ordeal is horrible but to never give up and try to keep the faith, which he said is "really hard to do." 

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He described his daughter as nice, funny and bright, and is desperate to have her come home.

Tara was reported missing by Merritt RCMP on Feb. 21. She is described as 5’11" tall, 141 lb. with black hair and hazel eyes.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to contact local police, or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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