It was dreary Thursday morning outside the B.C. Court of Appeal in Vancouver, where Sandra Gagnon sat and waited for hours to learn the fate of Robert Pickton.

It was 12 years to the day that she last spoke with her sister, Janet Henry, one of more than 60 women who went missing from the Downtown Eastside.

Although none of her sister’s DNA or her possessions were ever found on Pickton’s Port Coquitlam farm, Gagnon said having to go to court on the 12th anniversary of her sister’s disappearance was “heart wrenching.”.

“I have very mixed feelings today. I’m praying for the strength to get through it because prayer helps me a lot ... but it’s a very stressful situation,” she said before the appeal verdict. “But I’m also thinking about my sister because I really miss her. And it’s especially hard because it’s the last day she called me; it was June 25th.”

The appeal was rejected yesterday by a 2-1 vote, meaning the six second-degree murder charges will be upheld.

Pickton was originally charged with 26 counts of murder, but only stood trial for six after the judge divided the case in a bid to simplify proceedings.

The split decision yesterday means Canada’s high court will hear Pickton’s appeal.

The wait has been particularly torturous for families of the remaining missing women, including relatives like Gagnon, whose sister isn’t among the 26 slain women.

They knew another trial on the remaining 20 charges – the only way to bring judicial closure to the loss of their loved ones – would only happen if Pickton’s first six convictions were struck down.

“I’m glad it’s all over, but on the other hand I’m frustrated because if we ever find Janet’s DNA down the road and there’s enough to charge Robert Pickton, that obviously means nothing will ever happen,” said Gagnon after learning the verdict. “I’ve done all this work to find my sister, and here we are 12 years later and nothing has happened to find her.”

Gagnon, a Maple Ridge resident, was a regular to the law court in New Westminster during Pickton’s murder trial in 2007, until it became too much of an emotional burden.

“I went quite often but I had to step back because it was too much for me,” she said. “I had to get help to deal with it because it was so horrific.”

The jury trial in the Pickton case began in January 2007 and lasted almost a year.

In December 2007, Pickton was found guilty on six counts of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, but the decision was appealed.

Pickton’s lawyers were trying to win him a new trial, while Crown prosecutors wanted his second-degree murder convictions upgraded to first-degree.

The Crown also wanted Pickton to be tried for the full 26 counts of murder he was originally charged with.

Pickton’s own words presented at the trial suggested he is responsible for killing many more missing women beyond the murders for which he’s charged.

The trial included videotape evidence in which Pickton told an undercover officer posing as a cellmate that he planned to do “one more” to make it “an even 50.”

Gagnon fears her sister is one of them, as she said the Missing Women Task Force told her they believe Janet ended up on Pickton’s farm.

Despite the fact that her disappearance is still an open investigation, Gagnon said being in court for the decision on Pickton’s appeal yesterday is what her sister would have wanted.

“She would’ve wanted to see justice for the families,” said Gagnon. “My sister would want me to be strong and she’d want me to move on.”

And although it’s been tough, the end of the trial marked a bit of closure for Gagnon, and allowed her to focus on getting her life back to a bit of normalcy.

“I’m moving on with my life. I have a lot of positive things going on,” said Gagnon, who works at the Kanaka Creek Seniors Lodge.

She also commends her niece, Debra Chartier-Pijnenburg, Janet’s daughter, for the giant steps she’s taken since her mother disappeared when she was 12 years old.

“She graduated from college and got her criminology diploma. She got married one year ago,” said Gagnon. “She’s doing well; she’s moving on with her life. ... She’s very wise; her mom would be very proud of her.”

Gagnon is looking to the future, still trying to find complete closure.

She is in contact with America’s Most Wanted, trying to get the television show to do a feature on Janet.

“Somebody out there really has to know something about my sister, and my family and I just want answers,” she said.

– with files from

Jeff Nagel and

Dan Ferguson