Tanya Nepinak's family wants police to renew calls for information on case
Family of missing 31-year-old woman holds vigil, feast at Thunderbird House
The family of a Winnipeg woman missing for more than four years is calling on police to hold a news conference to drum up clues in her disappearance.
Tanya Nepinak, 31, went missing from downtown Winnipeg in September 2011.
Convicted killer Shawn Lamb was charged in her death in June 2012, but the charges were later stayed.
Sources told CBC the charges were stayed as part of a plea deal that included reduced charges in the killings of Carolyn Sinclair, 25, and Lorna Blacksmith, 18.
Nepinak's body has never been found, and her family is still searching for answers.
Family members held a vigil and feast on Sunday for Nepinak and her cousin, Skye Bighetty, who was killed in 2013.
"It's very hard," said Sue Caribou, Nepinak's and Bighetty's aunt. "We've been going through a lot of losses at the same time."
The family hasn't had much contact with police on the case since there was a search of the Brady Landfill for Nepinak's body in 2012, Caribou said.
Now she hopes officers will agree to hold a press conference with the Nepinak family to renew calls for information from the public.
"All these missing and murdered women … you know, they have a name, and they should be mentioned," said Caribou. "[We're] still having hope that she's still – I sometimes think that she's still alive."