Winnipeg police say a missing persons case has likely turned deadly and they are calling on the public to help bring closure to the Métis woman’s family.
It’s been nearly two months since Miranda Belle was last seen in Winnipeg.
Her family made an emotional plea during a media conference Wednesday morning.
“We all as a family want to bring my sister home, in the capacity that she comes home, so that we can properly lay my sister to rest,” Belle’s sister Alexis Harvey told reporters.
Police previously requested assistance in finding Belle three weeks after she went missing.
Investigators with the missing persons unit, in collaboration with the homicide detectives, now believe she is dead.
“We’re not confident that we’re going to find Miranda alive,” said Const. Rob Carver. “At this point I wish I could say something different. We’re really looking for closure for the family.”
Belle’s family say the 31-year-old was last seen at a residence in the south end of the city.
Harvey described an alarming call Belle made around 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 18.
“She called somebody she knew to be picked up from an address on Dudley Street,” said Harvey.
“It was identified in the call the she was in distress and she was asking for help. She needed to leave the place she was at.”
Carver was tight-lipped about details around Belle’s disappearance including what the call was about saying the investigation is still on-going.
“Investigators have a sense to what’s happened here but we’re in the stages of an investigation where we aren’t able to move forward with a conclusion,” he said.
Carver added police have spoken with a few suspects but until Belle is found they cannot release much information.
Investigator’s have identified a grey coloured 2012 Dodge Caravan that may be associated with Belle’s disappearance.
They believe Belle was transported outside the city.
“That is one of the avenues we’re pursuing and something we suspect,” said Carver.
Police are requesting residents and businesses in and around Winnipeg to check their properties and fields as well as consider reporting anything suspicious that may have occurred on the evening of Aug. 17.
Contact Winnipeg Police Service Missing Persons Unit at 204-986-6250.
