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Nunavut RCMP investigating homicide death of The Grizzlies actor Emerald MacDonald

Police in Nunavut are asking the public for help in an investigation into the death of Emerald MacDonald outside of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, earlier this month.

MacDonald's body was found at cabin outside Kugluktuk on May 3

A young woman with black hair looks off to the side of the camera
Emerald MacDonald was found dead at a cabin outside Kugluktuk, Nunavut, on May 3. RCMP have ruled her death a homicide. (CBC)

Police in Nunavut are asking the public for help in an investigation into the death of a woman in Kugluktuk, Nunavut, earlier this month.

RCMP say the body of Emerald MacDonald was found at a cabin outside of the hamlet on May 3. Police have ruled her death a homicide.

In a news release, police say MacDonald was last seen in Kugluktuk on April 30, as she was buying supplies to go to her family's cabin for the weekend. She then traveled by snowmobile to the cabin on Inutkoakakvik Island (Old Man Island).

Police say that's where she was last seen alive.

MacDonald became well known for her role in The Grizzlies, a 2018 film about a lacrosse team in Kugluktuk. The film is based on the true story of youth overcoming intergenerational trauma from residential schools, suicide and other struggles, and it was co-produced by MacDonald's sister, Stacey Aglok MacDonald.

A statement on the movie's Facebook page last week said Emerald MacDonald was a "shining talent."

A man and a woman, wearing winter clothing stand and look at each other, the woman holding a clipboard in her hand
Ben Schnetzer and Emerald MacDonald in a still from the 2018 film, The Grizzlies. (Shane Mahood/Mongrel Media)

"Emerald's performance was celebrated across the country, Europe and the world, but most important to her was that she made her community proud," the statement reads.

MacDonald's sister also posted a tribute to her on Facebook.

"She was a fearless, brave young woman who had so much more love, joy and talent to offer. She was taken too soon, but her love and light lives on in our hearts and on our screens," wrote Stacey Aglok MacDonald.

Police are asking anybody with information, or who may have seen or heard anything on the land or around MacDonald's cabin, to contact Kugluktuk RCMP at 867-982-0123, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).