Second set of remains of Indigenous woman found during Manitoba dump search

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - Canadian police said Monday that a second set of remains belonging to an Indigenous woman who was the victim of a serial killer had been found during an exhaustive search of a landfill site in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The remains of Marcedes Myran, 39, were confirmed, authorities said, while the remains of another Indigenous woman, Morgan Harris, 26, were found in February.

Two other Indigenous victims of convicted killer Jeremy Skibicki have yet to be found. He was convicted on four counts of first-degree murder last July.

Authorities were reluctant to search the large landfill, saying it would be too difficult and expensive and it was unlikely the remains of any of the four victims could be found.

Some remains of victim Rebecca Contois, 24, were discovered at another dump.

Eventually, authorities were pressured into the search when it became a political election issue in 2023. Families of the victims were sure the remains were in the Prairie Green landfill in Winnipeg. The search began in December.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, Canada’s first First Nations person to be elected to that position in October 2023, confirmed the identity of Myran in an X post Monday.

“Manitoba RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) have confirmed human remains found in the Prairie Green Landfill search have been identified as those of Marcedes Myran of Long Plains First Nation.”

Victim Harris is also from Long Plains First Nation.

The Manitoba and federal governments have both committed CAN$20 million ($14 million) toward the search, which is expected to continue through 2025, Kinew said.