Remains found during a search of a Winnipeg-area landfill have been identified as belonging to the victim of a serial killer, RCMP announced Friday.
A statement from the Manitoba government said the family of 39-year-old Morgan Harris was notified of the finding.
“We found my mother,” Cambria Harris posted online after the announcement.
“Please keep our families in your hearts tonight and every day going forward as we trust this process.”
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said last week that possible remains had been found during a search of the Prairie Green landfill and that tests were being done to identify them.
“Morgan Harris we honour you,” Kinew said on X after Friday’s announcement.
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The government statement said another set of remains was part of the recovery, and more information would be provided as facts are confirmed.
A search of the landfill started in December for the remains of Harris and another murder victim, Marcedes Myran.
Jeremy Skibicki was convicted last year of first-degree murder in the horrific slayings of Harris, Myran and two other indigenous women.
A trial heard Skibicki targeted the women at homeless shelters in Winnipeg and disposed of their bodies in garbage bins in his neighbourhood.
The remains of Rebecca Contois were found in a garbage bin and at a different landfill. Those of an unidentified woman indigenous grassroots community members named Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman, have not been found and police have not said where they might be.
It’s believed the remains of Myran also ended up at the Prairie Green landfill.
Police refused to search the site over safety concerns. The Progressive Conservative government at the time also said it wouldn’t support a search, and during the 2023 provincial election campaign the party touted that decision.
Families of the women and indigenous leaders in the province advocated for years for a search of the landfill, taking their fight to Parliament Hill and the Manitoba legislature.
Kinew pledged there would be a search and, after his NDP were elected, the province and the federal government put up $20 million to fund a search.
Earlier this week, the interim leader of the Tories apologized to the families of Morgan and Harris. Wayne Ewasko said the party lost its way and would do better moving forward.
The murder trial heard that Harris, a member of Long Plain First Nation, had been living in Winnipeg before she was last seen on May 1, 2022. Police said she was killed on or around the same day.
“This search has always been about love—honouring Morgan, Marcedes, Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe (Buffalo Woman), Rebecca Contois, and all families still waiting for their loved ones to be brought home,” the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs said in a statement.
“No family should have to search in this way, yet their loved ones stood firm in their truth and refused to be silenced. It is through their love and determination that Morgan has been found.”
“She’s coming home just like we said it from the very beginning,” a cousin of Harris, Melissa Robinson, said in a social media post.
“We lead and fought with our hears and now her spirit can rest.”
