Crisis support dispatched to Thompson in wake of teen death

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This article was published 29/03/2023 (937 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A team of crisis workers is heading to Thompson after a teen girl was found dead at a local dog park.

“We grieve with the family at this time,” Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak Grand Chief Garrison Settee said in a release Wednesday.

“Right now, we have to be there for them. Their child did not come home and now there is a void there that will never be filled.”

The Indigenous advocacy organization, which represents 26 northern First Nations, is sending a team of crisis workers to the northern city to support the family of a 15-year-old girl who was found dead at Baffin dog park, around 8 a.m. Tuesday.

The teen had been reported missing around 11:50 p.m. Monday, after she left the Thompson Recreational Community Centre grounds and did not return home.

Police, family and community members searched for the girl, but were unable to locate her. It is believed the teen had been outside overnight, as the temperature dipped as low as -24 C, RCMP said in a release.

She was last seen near where her body was found, RCMP said.

An autopsy will be done. Thompson RCMP continue to investigate.

Crisis staff are planning a vigil but have not finalized a date.

The girl is the fourth teenager from a remote Manitoba community to be found dead this month.

On March 24, an 18-year-old woman from Pimicikamak Cree Nation was found dead beside a lake near the community, RCMP said in a release.

The woman had been reported missing March 21, and investigators believe she had been outside for “a period of time.”

“My heart breaks for those who are grieving the loss of this young woman’s life. We send prayers to the First Nation and all who knew her,” Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Cathy Merrick said in a statement.

An autopsy will be conducted, and the investigation is ongoing.

Pimicikamak is located roughly 530 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

On March 1, two 14-year-old girls were found dead outside their homes in St. Theresa Point.

RCMP believe Dayna Shingoose and Emily Mason were exposed to temperatures as low as -23 C for several hours before they were discovered at about 8 a.m.

Chief Elvin Flett believes drugs and alcohol may have contributed to the deaths, but autopsy and toxicology reports are not yet available.

Flett, along with AMC officials, held a news conference May 24 calling for an inquest into the deaths. They also demanded authorities crack down on drug enforcement in remote communities.

St. Theresa Point is located 460 km northeast of Winnipeg and is only accessible by air or temporary winter roads.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca