Human remains were discovered at a Manitoba landfill north of Winnipeg, Canada, during a search for two missing First Nations women killed by a serial killer.
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced the discovery on X Wednesday, adding that the Manitoba RCMP and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner have been engaged, per protocols. Advertisement
“The Prairie Green landfill search, according to experts on-site, has identified potential human remains in the search material. The families of Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran have been notified of this development and attended the site,” he said.
At a news conference Kinew said that experts searching for remains of the women found them. Two forensic anthropologists and families of the two missing women were notified.
“We found what we believe is somebody’s loved one,” Kinew said. “I don’t think any of us will ever forget today…. This has been so public and long in the making. Now we’re at the stage where maybe we’re going to be able to move forward with healing and closure.”
He said the process to confirm the identities of the remains will take at least a couple of weeks. Advertisement
In July 2024 Jeremy Skibicki was found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder for the 2022 killing of four women in Winnipeg.
His victims were Harris, Myran, Rebecca Contois and an unidentified woman First Nations call Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.
Part of Contois’s remains were discovered in a Winnipeg garbage bin in June 2022.
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said in a statement that efforts to find Myran, Harris, and Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe “have been relentless-led by their families, First Nations leadership, and with support from our provincial and federal governments.”
“Today, we stand with heavy hearts, with determination, and with an unbreakable commitment to justice. The discovery of human remains at the Prairie Green Landfill is a painful but significant moment in our collective fight for justice,” it said.
The National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women investigated Canada’s missing and murdered indigenous women and girls crisis. The public inquiry was form 2016-2019 and a report called Reclaiming Power and Place was published.
While the exact number of missing and murdered are unknown, the report identified what it found to be the root cause of the violence.
“The National Inquiry’s Final Report reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people,” the report said. Advertisement
National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women report includes to take 231 individual calls for justice “directed at governments, institutions, social service providers, industries and all Canadians.”
2SLGBTQQIA is an acronym for people who identify as two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and asexual.
