Landfill search begins as Winnipeg police investigate Indigenous woman’s death
Posted June 2, 2022 5:21 pm.
Police in Winnipeg have started searching a landfill for human remains as part of an investigation into an Indigenous woman’s death.
Police say a sacred fire was lit and a ceremony held to honour 24-year-old Rebecca Contois earlier this week before officers began to search the site.
Jeremy Anthony Michael Skibicki, who is 35, was charged with first-degree murder last month after remains were found in a garbage bin near an apartment building.
Police said at the time that they were not ruling out the possibility of additional victims.
An area of the Brady Road Resource Management Facility was secured soon after, but weather conditions delayed the ground search until now.
Ten police officers are searching the landfill.
Police say the officers are fitted with respirators, methane detection equipment and other protective gear because of the location’s hazards.
Investigators have previously said the search may also involve drones and the canine search team.
Those who knew Contois have described her as someone who was bright and friendly with a good sense of humour.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2022.
