Tanya Nepinak was last seen in September 2011, and her aunt, Sue Caribou, is still looking for closure.
“Sometimes I pretend she’s alive when I’m having a hard time,” says Caribou. “I think of the good things me and Tanya shared. We sang a lot.”
Nepinak, a 31-year-old mother of two, is believed to have been murdered and her remains taken to Brady Road landfill. Police searched a portion of the landfill for Nepinak for about week back in 2012, but nothing was found.
The province has now committed to searching the landfill for the remains of Ashlee Shingoose, the recently-identified final victim of serial killer Jeremy Skibicki. Caribou wants that search to include efforts to find the remains of her niece, as well.
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“They deserve dignity and respect. So I’m gonna keep fighting to bring Tanya home.”
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has backed the Nepinak family in their push to have Tanya included in the new search. Grand Chief Kyra Wilson says talks with the province have been positive so far. Since the location of her remains is known, Wilson says searching for Nepinak is the right thing to do.
“We have a solution, and we should always, always try to bring our people home,” says Wilson.
Caribou will also meet with the premier and the police chief in the coming weeks, and is hopeful she’ll get support for the search. After nearly 14 years, she says to have a proper burial for Tanya would bring the family some peace.
“I don’t want her forgotten again,” says Caribou. “It’s been over a decade, and she deserves justice.”
Caribou will be holding a ceremony at Brady Road landfill this Saturday, where supporters of the search will play drums and put up posters of Tanya.
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