Teen found dead in The Pas was under CFS care

The father of a teenage girl found dead in The Pas, Man., Friday morning says she was a bright and caring person, but was troubled and couldn't get the help she needed.

Fifteen-year-old Darcie Lynelle Hayden Muchikekwanape, who also spelled her name Darcii, was found dead near the railway station of the northern community, her father, Emil Nabess, confirmed to CBC News.

Multiple family members also confirmed that she was under the care of Child and Family Services when she died.

RCMP said Friday they were called around 7 a.m. after someone discovered the body on Bignell Avenue in the town, 521 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. Police did not release any information about how or when Muchikekwanape died, but police are calling it a homicide investigation.

Nabess said his daughter had come to live with him at his home on Opaskwayak Cree Nation, the First Nation near The Pas, about two years ago following the death of her brother, Gerd Aaron Moonie Nabess.

She just never got the help she needed.- Emil Nabess, father of victim 

Darcie had struggled with drug and alcohol addiction since she was young, but took a downward turn after the death of her brother, Nabess said.

He decided to let her move from her mother's home in Winnipeg to come live with him in the hopes she would be able to turn her life around.

"Her mother tried with her and she couldn't handle it, so I tried to bring her over here and try and maybe give her the help she can get here," Nabess said.

But she continued to struggle, running away and "just being a wild child that wants to do what she wants, and thinking she's never going to get in trouble for it."

So she was put under the care of CFS for the last year of her life, in the hopes they could give her the help she needed, Nabess said.

Her problems continued.

"It seems like she was just pushed from one holding place to another, in foster homes or whatever," he said.

Despite her challenges, Nabess said his daughter was a very smart, beautiful, and witty young woman, who cared very much for her family and wanted a better life.

"She just never got the help she needed," he said.

CBC contacted Opaskwayak Cree Nation Child and Family Services, but executive director Ron Ranville said Friday he was unable to disclose any information about the case.

A vigil is planned for Muchikekwanape in The Pas Saturday evening, near the spot where her body was found.

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