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Officers search section of landfill for Nepinak's remains
Winnipeg Police officers sift through debris at the Brady Road Landfill looking for the remains of Tanya Nepinak. (MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
Tanya Jane Nepinak (FACEBOOK)
A team of nine Winnipeg police officers is combing through debris at the Brady Road Landfill in hopes of finding the remains of Tanya Nepinak.
The search began this morning and is expected to last three to five days.
"This is a landfill -- conditions are less than ideal," Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen said during an unusual news briefing metres away from the search area.
It was cold with a strong wind this afternoon at the landfill and the forecast for the next few days is only worse -- a mix of rain and flurries that is sure to make the task even more difficult.
Police believe Nepinak was killed by alleged serial killer Shawn Lamb in September 2011, her body wrapped in plastic and placed in a West End trash bin.
After Lamb’s arrest in June, police believed they knew where in the landfill Nepinak’s remains might be found. But by September, police realized there were too many possible sites within the landfill, making a meaningful search impossible.
However, a scaled-down search is going ahead, based on the recommendation of native elders who sensed they knew where she might be found following a ceremony conducted there late in the summer.
The search is concentrated on a tiny patch within the 790-hectare site -- an area about 8 metres wide by 8 metres long by 8 metres deep, a short distance away from where the native ceremony was held.
A backhoe is digging up debris and placing it on a site nearby where six officers from the WPS forensic identification unit sift through it with rakes.
Watching over the Ident team is a safety officer, who is monitoring the area for hazards, including methane.
The searchers are wearing respirators and blue biochemical suits.
Watching over the search are the two senior WPS officers who designed the project, Insp. Liz Pilcher and Staff Sgt. Will Symons.
A windbreak was created using hay bales, but that's the only protection provided to the searchers from the weather.
"They're going through the material from top to bottom," Michalyshen said. "It's a very tedious process."
Michalyshen said if the searchers find anything they believe could be human remains, a medical examiner will be consulted.
The team will work 10-hour days until they've exhausted the search site.
"Our commitment is to complete this search," Michalyshen said.
The Nepinak family is not at the site but Michalyshen said they are welcome to attend, adding they will be contacted immediately if the searchers find anything of Tanya Nepinak.
History
Updated on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at 4:07 PM CDT: adds new photo
7:40 PM: adds video
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