Body found was missing woman: grandfather

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/09/2012 (5142 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Oliver Sanderson is confirming the body found Sunday afternoon in an alley on Burrows Avenue and Main Street was his grandaughter Simone Sanderson, the 23-year-old woman who was reported missing by the Winnipeg Police Service on Aug. 31.

Sanderson, who said he raised Simone since she was a baby, said she has been missing since Aug. 26. He said he and his wife were informed Sunday night that Simone’s body had been found dead in the alley between Burrows Avenue and Magnus Avenue.

“My wife and I are very distressed. We believe she was murdered. Apparently her body was covered up in leaves. We are very heartbroken,” Sanderson said on the phone today from Crane River First Nations Reserve.

Winnipeg police confirmed Monday that a body was found at the scene of an investigation Sunday near Burrows Avenue and Main Street.

Police closed off traffic to eastbound Burrows Avenue at Main Street Sunday afternoon for an undisclosed reason — but area residents said a woman’s body was found in the area.

Three police squad cars and the identification unit were on scene. Police tape closed off the Taste of Europe Fine Foods & Delicatessen on Main Street and its adjacent parking lot.

A resident in a home on Magnus Avenue, whose yard faces out onto the alley, said Sunday he heard a woman yelling that she had found a body.

“There had been a smell for about a week, but I figured it was just garbage. I didn’t get too close cause I didn’t want to see, but the woman said it was a woman’s body,” said the man, who gave his name as Eddie.

Police confirmed Monday that a body had been found and that the homicide unit is currently investigating the incident. Officers and cadets are still on scene.

Police said an autopsy will be performed.