New ‘Buffalo Woman’ identified

A woman who was found dead last summer has been identified, two days after police and Indigenous organizations asked for the public’s help in determining who she was.

The woman was identified as Melanie McKay on Saturday after someone sent her family a social-media post with an updated sketch of the woman, the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre said in a news release Tuesday.

The then-unidentified woman was given the Indigenous name Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, last week. That is the same name given to Ashlee Shingoose before she was identified as one of the four victims of serial killer Jeremy Skibicki.

A news conference in which the new sketch was displayed was held in downtown Winnipeg on Thursday. New details about the unknown woman were also revealed.

“We are deeply grateful to everyone in the community who shared the information, looked at the poster, gave thoughtful suggestions and took the time to care about Melanie,” the release stated.

“You were the heart of this effort in bringing her home and giving this family answers. In just 48 hours, the information reached her family, all because of you.”

She was the third-born of six sisters and a mother of five from Garden Hill First Nation, the release said. Her sisters travelled to Winnipeg to claim her remains Monday, Ma Mawi said.

McKay’s age was not released.

“While there are many reasons people may become estranged from their loved ones, we ask the community to treat the family with kindness as they grieve,” the release said.

McKay was found in a stairwell inside the Manwin Hotel on Aug. 10, 2024. Her death is not believed to be suspicious.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca