THUNDER BAY – Court documents confirm the deceased individual located in the city’s south-side on Saturday was Deborah Anishinabie.
A large police presence was seen in the area of the 800 block of Finlayson Street and the 400 block of McKellar Street North on Dec. 14 and on Wednesday, the Thunder Bay Police Service issued a media release stating a deceased individual had been located in the area, but they would not be publicly releasing the identity of the individual at this time.
However, police said that Levi Michael Lawson, 24, had been arrested on Tuesday and was charged with indignity to a human body.
Court documents obtained by Dougall Media from the Thunder Bay Courthouse state Lawson allegedly “did indecently interfere the human remains of Deborah Anishinabie” between Dec. 5 and Dec. 7.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation issued a statement on Wednesday, saying the family had been informed by police that Anishinabie had been found deceased in the 800 block of Finlayson Street and an arrest had been made.
Anishinabie had been missing for nearly two weeks. The 41-year-old woman from Sandy Lake First Nation had last been seen leaving a bar on Dec. 5 in the 100 block of Simpson Street.
Thunder Bay police also said in a separate media release on Wednesday that Anishinabie was no longer the subject of a missing person investigation and it was now a private matter between investigators and the family.
