A resident of Pinaymootang First Nation says that RCMP dismissed his family’s concerns and did not verify the body of a loved one not counted after that person’s house was destroyed in a fire.
The emergency teams were called on February 7 to the community, right next to the 6 to 200 kilometers north of Winnipeg.
The residence was destroyed by fire, which RCMP has been considered suspicious.
But Clifford Anderson said the police did not bother to review the site after the flames were taken, even after his family said someone could have been inside when the fire broke out.
Anderson said a young adult, the adoptive son of his sister -in -law, lived in the house at that time.
On the night of the fire, the relatives tried to call the man’s cell phone without success when they reached him. Then, Anderson’s family told an RCMP officer standing out of the house that they believed that the man was still inside.
Anderson said the officer rejected concerns, saying that the police had already looked around the house and that no one was found.
“This was while the house was completely wrapped. Where we were, we were standing about 50 meters away, the heat was almost unbearable from the house. And here the RCMP member said he looked around,” Anderson said.
“How could you … when that house was still burning?”
‘Bones standing out of the ashes’
Anderson said the officer stayed on the site until 11 in the afternoon, the house was still burning in some sections, while firefighters continued fighting the fire.
The next two days, Saturday and Sunday, Anderson led to the house, but there was no police presence in any of the days, he said.
“Nobody [was] protect the scene. Nobody [was] Protecting the entrance path, “he said.
He and his brother decided to look through the rubble themselves. Anderson was on the east side of the house while his brother was looking for in the west.
“Just where we met … I noticed that the bones stood out from the ashes,” he said.
They called RCMP, who came to the scene and photographed the bones. Later, the officer told them that they were, in fact, human remains, he said.
“If it weren’t for us to go there, I don’t know what would have happened,” Anderson said. “Maybe those bones would have lost forever.”
CBC News contacted the RCMP to comment, but has not received an answer.
SCO, main called for better surveillance
The Organization of the South of the Chiefs, which represents 32 Nations of Manitoba, including PinayMootang, is asking for better surveillance and public safety in the community.
A week before fatal fire, a 50 -year -old woman died after being found in medical anguish outside a house.
The autopsy results indicate that April Woodhouse, who was discovered that he was covered with bruises, did not die from exposure to cold or injury.
His family has been pressing for his death to be investigated as a homicide.
“Scco is deeply concerned about the frequency of these horrible incidents and the lack of perceived investigation by the RCMP,” the organization said in a statement published on Saturday.
The organization also demanded an increase in the police and the security patrol options for the community. They are also asking the province to train more security officers in the first nation, who work together with local police authorities.
“My sincere hope is that the death of our relationships in Pinaymootang is not in vain and that we dedicate our energy to do everything we can to ensure that this type of incident will never happen again,” said great boss Jerry Daniels in the statement .
CBC News contacted the head of PinayMoTang, Kurvis Anderson, to comment, but refused, given that RCMP’s investigations on both deaths are still ongoing.
However, in the statement of SCO, Kurvis Anderson asked all levels of government to work with the community to find solutions for “this incredibly difficult moment.”
“There is an obvious need to explore all the ways of greater surveillance and general security for my people,” he said.
