A poster for Tara Moran hangs outside her family's home in Merritt. (Image Credit: Adam Donnelly / CFJC Today)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

MISSING: TARA MORAN

Five months after her disappearance, family of Merritt’s Tara Moran pleads for information

Jul 5, 2024 | 5:30 PM

MERRITT, B.C. — A family in Merritt is trying to keep their daughter’s name out there, as she’s now been missing for five months.

According to RCMP, 27-year-old Tara Moran was last seen in Merritt on January 31 and was reported missing in February this year.

Her parents, Deb and Patrick Moran, say it’s been a painful situation and they’re hoping someone who knows something about what happened to Tara will come forward.

They say RCMP have been following up on tips and information around Tara’s disappearance and the family has heard several different rumours around Merritt about who could be involved or who knows something, but nothing substantive has surfaced.

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“There has been no activity from her as far as any sort of banking or with the police or the medical system,” says Patrick. “She’s basically vanished.”

Tara’s parents describe their daughter as chatty, a free spirit, with an interest in make-up artistry and dance. But in recent years, her family says mental health and substance use issues became more prevalent in Tara’s life.

“She was not that same young girl anymore. No, a completely different person.”

And over the past year, she had been living in and out of the shelter in Merritt, with sometimes sporadic contact with her loved ones. Deb says she and Patrick would meet up with Tara to check in on her well-being, drop off a care package or give her gift cards for food.

“I think that last time I spoke with her, we were supposed to meet and she didn’t show up,” says Deb, “so I left the (gift) cards with ASK Wellness. I knew she had moved out. And then the RCMP contacted us soon after that.”

“We’ve given posters out in Kelowna. My husband has been down at the coast in the (Vancouver) downtown eastside giving out posters and talking to people there,” she explains.

If Tara Moran did in fact leave the Merritt area, her family is confident she left with someone, as Tara doesn’t own a vehicle.

“But at the end of the day, there’s always those times where you’ve got to think to yourself, obviously, ‘Where is she? Is she still alive? If she isn’t, what happened to her?'” says Patrick.

Months with no answers has dealt plenty of frustration and anxiety for the family, who is urging anyone who knows something to do the right thing and speak up.

“Tara is worthy to be found. I mean, she’s a lovely person. A lovely girl. And we just want to know if she’s alive and safe. That’s all we want to know,” says Deb, with Patrick adding, “And let her know we love her.”

Anyone with information on Tara’s whereabouts is asked to contact their local police or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

Image Credit: Moran family