Family wanting answers after 53-year-old found dead near highway intersection

The family of a grandmother from Ebb and Flow First Nation wants to know how she ended up dead in a field north of Winnipeg.

“It’s a shock to all of us,” said Eugenia Houle, Niece of Lori Ann Mancheese. “I couldn’t believe it.”

RCMP say the body of 53-year-old Lori Ann Mancheese, was found near the intersection of highway 8 and Grassmere road on June 6. CityNews spoke with Mancheese’s niece Eugenia Houle Monday.

She says she didn’t find out about her aunt’s death until June 9 and was provided very few details about what happened.

“We the family all still wonder why she was way far out of the city where she was found, and why she was in a field where she was found.”

Mancheese was a mother of five and a grandmother of seven. Those close to her say she was unsheltered and had mobility issues.

Houle says she was in and out of the hospital and recalls Mancheese was in hospital the last time they spoke. Investigators currently are awaiting autopsy results and say at this time, her death appears to be non-criminal in nature.

“It’s always quite devastating to learn of another Indigenous woman’s death and certainly it’s quite devastating to learn about the details of what we know thus far,” said Nahanni Fontaine, NDP MLA.

MLA Nahanni Fontaine has been in contact with the family since Friday and says the details don’t seem to be adding up.

“I like the family, am anxious to see what the autopsy report will actually find, but in the interim, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered,” said Fontaine.

“We all loved her. We are all now coming together. We knew she was sick, but we never thought it would end this way for her,” said Houle.

The family is planning a vigil Thursday evening at the Manitoba Legislative building.