Community gathers for vigil to honour Leah Keeper as greiving family demands answers
Posted April 12, 2026 12:15 pm.
Last Updated April 12, 2026 12:16 pm.
Grieving family and supporting community members gathered for a vigil for Leah Keeper in Winnipeg’s north end, a Manitoba First Nation mother who has been missing since 2023.
“The family needs answers,” said Melissa Robinson, the co-founder of Morgan’s Warriors.
Marilyn Courchene, Leah Keeper’s aunt, says, “Tuesday, since we got the news, and it’s been a tiring few days. Leah’s remains will be given to my sister tomorrow.”
The remains were found on Selkirk Avenue near McKenzie Street on the afternoon of Nov. 23, 2025.
Winnipeg police are now confirming that DNA testing has matched those remains to Leah Keeper, a 32-year-old mother of two from Sagkeeng First Nation.
She was last seen in Winnipeg’s north end on July 25, 2023.
“They have to carry it, they have to walk with this every day now. The heaviness of that grief, the bad dream they’ve been in has become the reality,” said Robinson.
The back lane in the 600 block of Pritchard Avenue was packed Saturday afternoon with many people were carrying flowers.
“As a community, we come together. We know their pain, we feel their pain because we’ve all been there as well,” said Robinson.
Other families who lost their loved ones were also at the vigil. They came forward to support the grieving family and to share the stories of their loss.
“Everyone here has been impacted in one way or another by the MMIWG2S+ crisis,” said Robinson.
Keeper’s family is calling on the provincial and federal governments for better support, as they say, in many cases, relatives struggle to gather funds for the search.
“There are still more people that need to be found, that are out there that need the help from Canada,” said Courchene.
Yet after three years, Leah Keeper’s family still does not have closure, as the police still continue to investigate her death.
“It’s very important for our families to have closure,” said Courchene.
