2nd set of remains found at Manitoba landfill confirmed to be Marcedes Myran
Myran and Morgan Harris, whose remains were identified earlier this month, were victims of serial killer
WARNING: This story contains details of violence against Indigenous women.
Police have identified a second set of remains found at a Winnipeg-area landfill as those of Marcedes Myran, one of four Indigenous women who were victims of a serial killer in 2022, the province said Monday.
Myran's remains were one of two sets found at the Prairie Green landfill north of Winnipeg in February. The remains of Morgan Harris were publicly identified on March 7.
Both Myran, 26, and Harris, 39, were originally from Long Plain First Nation, 95 kilometres west of Winnipeg. They were among four Indigenous women murdered by serial killer Jeremy Skibicki in 2022.
"Marcedes Myran and Morgan Harris are coming home," Premier Wab Kinew told reporters on Monday afternoon. "This is what we set out to do. I don't know if many of us knew the odds of success … but, it turns out, bringing them home was within our grasp."
WATCH | How the families fought to search the landfill:
The search was expected to continue throughout 2025, Kinew said.
"We went through a whole heck of a lot to get to this point, but at the end of the day, we did the right thing."
Workers are still at Prairie Green to find additional remains of Harris and Myran, he said. The search could continue for a few more weeks before the province reassesses next steps alongside the women's families.
"I can tell you that today we continue to find remains, and in the coming weeks, perhaps that will no longer be the case."
Kinew would not say whether the search would continue in hopes of finding another victim of Skibicki, a still-unidentified woman who was given the name Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, by community leaders.
Last July, Skibicki was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder in the killings of Myran, Harris, Rebecca Contois, 24, and Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe.
Harris and Myran are believed to have been killed in early May 2022. Mashkode Bizhiki'ikwe is believed to have been killed in mid-March of that year, but her remains have never been found.
Investigators believe Contois was the last woman Skibicki killed, on May 14 or 15, 2022. Her partial remains were found in a garbage bin in Winnipeg in mid-May of that year, with more later found at the city-run Brady Road landfill in June 2022.
Donna Bartlett, Myran's grandmother, previously told CBC News that Myran made contact with family for the last time on March 15, 2022.
While the family had hoped that Myran would reappear, Bartlett said they contacted police and put out posters reporting her as missing later that fall.
Kyra Wilson, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, says she witnessed the strength, determination and love of Myran's family as they fought to bring her home.
"Their courage is a reflection of the love they carry for her. Our hearts are with them as they grieve and begin the journey of healing," she said in a news release.
'I hope that there's healing'
The families of Harris and Myran had long called for Prairie Green to be searched for the women's remains.
On the same morning Contois's remains were found in the Winnipeg garbage bin, the remains of Harris and Myran, in a dumpster a few blocks away, were picked up by a garbage truck, court heard during Skibicki's trial last year.
It wasn't until June 20, 2022, that police realized their remains had been taken to the privately-run Prairie Green landfill, in the rural municipality of Rosser, just north of Winnipeg. By then, more than 10,000 more loads of garbage had been dumped there.
A search of the site, which was initially deemed unfeasible by police and later became a political issue in Manitoba's 2023 provincial election, began late last year.
Heather Stefanson, the former premier and leader of the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party, apologized following the election for ads that promoted her decision not to search the landfill for Harris and Myran.
Earlier this month, the Progressive Conservatives apologized to the families for refusing to search the landfill.
When asked about the PCs' failed election campaign, Kinew replied that he's more focused on Manitobans.
"Regardless of how you felt over the course of this thing, I hope we can all just agree that it's good that we're able to provide closure to these families," he said.
Kinew said in the future, he would like to publicly honour those who participated in the Prairie Green search.
In the meantime, he urged time and space for the families of Harris and Myran.
"I hope that there's healing for everybody."
Advocate wants inquiry into police response
Hilda Anderson-Pyrz, chair of the National Family and Survivors Circle, says the discovery of the women's remains is heartbreaking for the entire community, particularly for the families of Harris, Myran and other missing Indigenous women and girls.
"Families have had to fight on the front line for their loved ones to be brought home," she said. "That in itself is very heartbreaking."
She also wants an inquiry to be called into Winnipeg police's decision not to search Prairie Green.
Gene Bowers was officially sworn in as the new chief of Winnipeg police on Monday morning. He replaced former chief Danny Smyth, who said searching Prairie Green was not feasible because too much time had passed since Harris and Myran's remains were taken there.
"I think the community is looking for a response from this new police chief on how things are going to change," Anderson-Pyrz said.
LISTEN | Advocate reacts to 'heartbreaking' discovery:
The saga surrounding Prairie Green is a clear indication that Indigenous women's bodies are being disposed of in landfills, and she says there should be a response mechanism in place that will uphold the dignity of Indigenous women, girls and gender diverse people.
"If this ever happens again, how will the police respond?"
Anderson-Pyrz also hopes Canadians understand their role in stopping violence against Indigenous women, girls and gender diverse people.
"They're part of this fight."
Support is available for anyone affected by these reports and the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people. Immediate emotional assistance and crisis support are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through a national hotline at 1-844-413-6649.
You can also access, through the government of Canada, health support services such as mental health counselling, community-based support and cultural services, and some travel costs to see elders and traditional healers. Family members seeking information about a missing or murdered loved one can access Family Information Liaison Units.
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With files from Issa Kixen