RCMP say that while the remains were disturbed by animals, there is no evidence animals caused the girl’s death.John Lehmann/The Globe and Mail
An 11-year-old girl on a northern Manitoba reserve appears to have been killed by someone, and not a bear as some people believed, RCMP said Friday.
The death of Teresa Robinson, whose remains were found on the Garden Hill First Nation Monday, is now considered a homicide.
"Her remains were disturbed by animals, but there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that animals played a role in her death," RCMP spokesperson Tara Seel said.
Seel said an autopsy was ongoing, the cause of death was not being released and RCMP would not confirm the timeline suggested by some residents of the fly-in community 500 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
Robinson was last seen leaving a birthday party on May 5, six days before she was reported missing to the RCMP.
She was headed home but never made it, and her father thought she may have simply decided to sleep over at a friend's house, according to David Harper, grand chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak.
Harper's group represents First Nation communities across the province's north.
It was a few days later that a family member called the school and a community search was launched, Harper said earlier this week.