Autopsies begin on bodies found frozen at U.S. border: Manitoba RCMP

The autopsies of four people who were found dead near the Canada-U.S. border last week have begun — a process that was delayed in part by the fact that the bodies were so frozen, Manitoba RCMP say.

The update comes a week after the discovery of the bodies in a Manitoba field near the Canada-United States border. The people found are believed to be a family from India who died from exposure to the freezing weather while trying to walk across the border, officials have said.

"When the bodies were found, they had been there for a period of time. It was … –35 degrees," Mountie spokesperson Cpl. Julie Courchaine said on Wednesday, adding that the human body is composed of a large percentage of water.

"Definitely, I think that that was a factor in why it did take some extra time."

While the bodies were initially identified as those of a man, a woman, a teenage boy and an infant, formal identification is still pending.

Details about the age and sex of the two children found could also change once they're confirmed by the autopsies, Courchaine said, considering the condition the bodies when they were found and the fact they were bundled up in winter clothing when investigators made those assessments.

Courchaine said the autopsies began on Wednesday. RCMP are hoping for an update by the end of this week, though that could be pushed back to early next week, she said.

There are several factors that could determine how long that process will take, Courchaine said.

Those potential factors include how many people from the medical examiner's office are working on the procedures and the fact that autopsies done on children can take longer than those for adults, she said.

She said the RCMP's major crimes services, integrated border enforcement team and members of the Emerson detachment are continuing to work on the investigation into the deaths of the four people.

"And as soon as we have some information to release, we will do so."