Latest news with #landfillsearch
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
Loved ones repeat calls for province to not forget Tanya Nepinak as Brady Landfill search approaches
New Crews searched for remains of 31-year-old in 2012 but came up empty-handed. Her aunt wants them to try again The aunt of a woman missing for over a decade stood at the steps of the Manitoba Legislature on Saturday echoing her calls on the province to include Tanya Nepinak, 31, in a targeted search of Winnipeg's Brady Landfill. Sue Caribou held up an optimistic letter she wrote to her missing niece after a meeting with Premier Wab Kinew this spring, while others held signs at the legislative building that read: "Search for Tanya Nepinak." "When they did mention they were going to search the Brady Landfill, again, they didn't mention my niece," Nepinak said through tears. "Why do they keep throwing her under the rug? Doesn't she matter?" The NDP government announced this week the search of Prairie Green Landfill north of the city officially ended July 9, months after the partial remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran — both from Long Plain First Nation — were discovered there in February. The women were among four First Nations women killed by Jeremy Skibicki in 2022. He was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder in their deaths last year. Rebecca Contois and Ashlee Shingoose were the other two victims. Contois' partial remains were discovered first in a garbage bin near Skibicki's apartment in Winnipeg's North Kildonan neighbourhood. More were uncovered at Brady Landfill in June 2022. That's also where some of Shingoose's remains are believed to be, and that's where searchers are expected to continue looking soon. Brady Landfill is also where investigators believe Nepinak's remains were taken after she went missing. Nepinak, originally from Pine Creek First Nation, has been missing more than 13 years. She was last seen leaving her home on Sherbrook Street in Winnipeg in September 2011. Shawn Lamb was charged with second-degree murder in her death in 2012, though those charges were later stayed. Lamb was then convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of Carolyn Sinclair and Lorna Blacksmith. Nepinak's remains were believed to be in Brady Landfill at the time. There was a brief search that wrapped in six days, without success, in 2012. Caribou has persisted in her quest to pressure successive government leadership to resume the search for Nepinak's remains. In April, Caribou led a march that wound through the legislature ahead of a meeting she had with Kinew. At the time, she felt a renewed sense of confidence. "Good things happen when you keep moving forward in a good way. Finally got to chat with the premier," reads a line from a letter Caribou wrote to Nepinak following that meeting. "I was so grateful." Image | Sue Caribou holds up note she wrote to her missing niece Tanya Caribou Caption: Sue Caribou holds up note she wrote to her missing niece Tanya Nepinak in April 2025. The 31-year-old mother has been missing for a decade, and her family questions whether her remains are in Winnipeg's Brady Landfill. (Travis Golby/CBC) Open Image in New Tab But that feeling was short-lived. Nepinak said Saturday that meetings she expected to have with the premier or staff were cancelled or rescheduled several times in the ensuing months, with one explanation being due to wildfire season. Manitoba is in the grips of its worst wildfires in 30 years, which have displaced thousands of evacuees, most of them residents of northern First Nation communities. Many have been put in shelters and hotels in Winnipeg and elsewhere in the south. Nepinak said she understands how pressing the wildfire situation is for the province to attend to, but she feels announcements about the forthcoming search of Brady Landfill are failing to mention her niece, and she feels ignored. She also feels, with thousands of evacuees stuck in Winnipeg currently, that the Manitoba government has an opportunity before it. "This is a perfect time for our people to help each other," said Caribou, adding the province should pay evacuees to search the landfill for her niece. "Let the evacuees make some money while they're here and not fall into all kinds of trouble. We can all make history and we can all help each other." She wants to move forward but is getting frustrated and angered "when they mention Brady Landfill and mention Ashlee [Shingoose] but not Tanya." "That just breaks my heart," she said. "Let's help one another." Jennifer Rocchio, a relative of Tanya's, said she made Nepinak's father a promise on his deathbed that she would keep showing up for his daughter. "There needs to be some accountability to the First Nations community," she said. "We have to hold them accountable."
Globe and Mail
7 days ago
- Globe and Mail
Search for more remains of slain Indigenous women in Manitoba landfill concludes
The search of a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two slain First Nations women has concluded with a new search soon set to begin at a different site for another victim. The Manitoba government announced Thursday that crews have finished checking the Prairie Green landfill, north of Winnipeg, for the remains of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran. They died at the hands of a serial killer in 2022. 'Together, we brought Morgan and Marcedes home,' Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said in a social media post. Some of their remains were first found at the site in February. At the time, the province said it would continue searching the area to recover as much of their remains as possible. On Thursday, Kinew's government said the search ended last week and private ceremonies with the victims' families, members of the search team and the premier were held Monday and Tuesday. The province said the search would soon begin at a different landfill for the remains of another victim. 'Relevant specialized equipment and personnel will soon transition to the Brady Road landfill to continue the search for Ashlee Shingoose (Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe or Buffalo Woman),' the province said. Remains found in Winnipeg-area landfill search confirmed to belong to Morgan Harris It's believed the remains of Harris and Myran ended up at the privately run Prairie Green landfill after they were killed by Jeremy Skibicki. He was convicted last year of first-degree murder in the killings of four First Nations women: Harris, Myran, Shingoose and Rebecca Contois. A trial heard Skibicki targeted the women at Winnipeg homeless shelters and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins in his neighbourhood. The remains of Contois were found in a garbage bin and at a different landfill. Police identified the fourth victim as Shingoose earlier this year. Shingoose was previously referred to as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, a name gifted to her by Indigenous grassroots community members. Police have said they believe Shingoose's remains are at the city-run Brady Road landfill, the same place where Contois's were discovered. A search of the Prairie Green landfill for Harris and Myran began after the women's families, Indigenous leaders and advocates pushed for years for a dig, taking their fight to Parliament Hill and the steps of the Manitoba legislature. Police and the previous Progressive Conservative government refused to search Prairie Green, citing safety concerns related to toxic materials and asbestos. The Tories also ran advertisements in the 2023 election campaign that touted their decision to say no to a landfill search. The NDP government, elected that year, promised a search and, in conjunction with the federal government, committed a total of $40 million to the efforts, which began last year.
CBC
13-06-2025
- CBC
Winnipeg police chief says he advocated for landfill search for remains of murdered women
Winnipeg police Chief Gene Bowers says he advocated for a landfill search when of the police service was deliberating whether to conduct excavations to locate the remains of two First Nations women murdered by a serial killer. Bowers, who was sworn in as police chief in March, said Friday that when he served as deputy chief in charge of investigations for the Winnipeg Police Service, he spoke in favour of searching the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg for the remains of Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris. Myran, 26, and Harris, 39, were originally from Long Plain First Nation, west of Winnipeg. They were among four First Nations women murdered by serial killer Jeremy Skibicki in early 2022. The police service opted not to conduct a search at Prairie Green after investigators concluded in 2022 that the remains of the two women were transported to the privately run landfill. The remains of both Harris and Myran were located in the landfill in March 2025, following a search commissioned by the provincial NDP government. In response to a question about his role in the decision making about the search, Bowers said he always supported it. "There was a voice at the table that thought that we should search," he said, clarifying he was that voice. "There were other things to consider regarding that. Obviously, that wasn't what occurred, but the service as a whole has always been supportive of a humanitarian search for the remains, and that is something that I've been involved with." Skibicki was convicted in July 2024 of four counts of first-degree murder in the killings of Myran, Harris, Rebecca Contois — a 24-year-old member of O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi First Nation — and a then unidentified woman known as Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman. She has since been identified as Ashlee Shingoose, a 30-year-old from St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation. Bowers succeeded former Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth, who retired from the police service in 2024. Smyth has not responded to requests for comment since the remains of Myran and Harris were located in March. Bowers said he is committed to advancing reconciliation in Winnipeg and is in the process of hiring an external consultant to advise the police service on reconciliation and other issues related to cultural sensitivities. Bowers said he has a consultant in mind for the job, but the paperwork has not been signed and he cannot divulge a budget for the sole-sourced contract. Bowers said among other tasks, the consultant will assist the service with collecting race-based data involving police interactions. Social activists have requested the police collect this data, especially when it pertains to the use of force.
