Thunder Bay police begin first-ever landfill search for remains of First Nations woman

Police in Thunder Bay have begun searching for human remains at a municipal landfill as part of an investigation into the 2024 death of a First Nations woman – an endeavour that advocates say marks a turning point for authorities across the country.

The landfill search for Deborah Anishinabie is the first such operation in the force’s decades-long history, Thunder Bay Police Chief Darcy Fleury told The Globe and Mail. His police service in the Northwestern Ontario city has been consulting with officials in Manitoba, who were recently successful in their own landfill searches for the victims of a serial killer who targeted First Nations women.