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Half of those reported missing were found safe — some cases were closed mere days after they opened. But each time a new name and photo is released, the Village listens. Each case — regardless of how long a person is missing — adds to the panic.

The longer the list grows, the more the community is left to wonder — how can this happen in the place they sought for an acceptance that could never be guaranteed elsewhere? The Village is supposed to grant those who’ve lived without acceptance, in the midst of hate, homophobia and transphobia because of their sexuality, a home.

Photo by Facebook

But now they’re wondering whether it’s become like a hunting ground.

“There’s the dichotomy of yes, this is my neighbourhood, yes I feel safe, yet it’s certainly no refuge,” says Christy, her eyes piercing and angry.

Located just southeast of one of Toronto’s busiest intersections, Bloor and Yonge streets, the Village is best known to those who aren’t familiar with its drag bars, pubs and bathhouses as home to the city’s annual Pride parade.

But panic arose when Christine Hermeston found her daughter, Tess Richey, dead in an alley just north of Church and Wellesley streets — 20 metres from where she was last seen alive four days earlier.

Richey, 22, left a drag bar, Crews & Tangos, in the heart of the Village with a high school friend she hadn’t seen for three years at 1:45 a.m. on Nov. 25, according to police. The two made their way to a hot dog cart on Church Street where they met the man police are saying is the suspect in her murder. With the man in tow, the group walked northwest toward Dundonald Street where they met with a man and a woman. Eventually, Richey’s friend left the group at around 4 a.m. So too did the couple, leaving Richey alone with the man.