RCMP are investigating after partial human remains, which appeared to be those of an infant, were discovered on a rural property in the Interlake this week.
Officers were looking for additional remains Friday, after the initial discovery in or near a barn off Highway 6 in the Rural Municipality of Grahamdale, RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre told the Free Press.
He said the remains were recent, rather than historical, based on preliminary examinations.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
RCMP spokesman Sgt. Paul Manaigre told the Free Press the remains were recent, rather than historical.
“We’re probably going to guess in the last couple of years, but it’s premature right now,” said Manaigre.
RCMP believe the remains were found by animals in a separate location and moved to a spot on the property, where the animals had sought shelter, said Manaigre.
“That is the most likely scenario (investigators) were thinking,” said the officer, who did not know the type of animals involved.
The identity of the person was not yet known, nor were the circumstances of how the remains came to be in the rural area.
Investigators did not yet know the cause of death nor whether foul play was involved.
Manaigre said the owners were “going about” their property when they noticed the remains at about 7:30 p.m. Monday.
The property is located southwest of Gypsumville between a turn-off to the community and Provincial Road 328, said Manaigre.
On Friday, an RCMP search and rescue team was scouring the area.
The RCMP’s major crime, forensic identification and police dog services, and a forensic anthropology team were also involved in the investigation.
Manaigre said police work becomes “more meticulous” if and when additional remains are found in such a situation.
“They go through all the grasses and layers of dirt,” he said.
Grahamdale Reeve Craig Howse was among the residents who reacted with shock when they learned remains had been found in a northern part of the RM, about 250 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
“It is kind of a quiet area where they found the remains, but you never know what happens,” he said. “You feel for the relatives, the family of the infant.”
News of the discovery was spreading throughout the RM, which is home to about 1,300 people, before the RCMP publicly announced the investigation Friday.
A man who lives in the area said he learned about the discovery Wednesday.
“I heard it was infant’s remains, that’s it,” said the man, who declined to give his name.
chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca
Chris Kitching
Reporter
Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.
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