Saskatoon police locate human remains on first day of search for missing woman
Saskatoon police may have located the remains of a Saskatoon woman who has been missing since September 2020.
According to police, human remains were recovered around 2:30 p.m. Thursday near St. Louis, Sask. during the first day of the search for Megan Gallagher.
The remains were found by a search team on the South Saskatchewan River, Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) said in a news release.
The intensive search of the area was expected to last up to four days. The search included civilian search and rescue personnel and specially-trained police dog teams from Calgary.
The SPS forensic identification unit will be processing the scene, and will perform testing to determine the person's idenity.
Eight people are accused in connection with Gallagher's death, with charges ranging from first-degree murder to unlawful confinement and offering an indignity to human remains.
Police first began investigating her disappearance as a homicide in January 2021.
During a news conference Thursday morning, SPS Staff Sgt. Grant Obst said there were "two large specific areas of the river" that the search crews planned to focus on.
“The working theory in the investigation has indicated that the murder occurred in Saskatoon, the disposal of the body occurred in the area that we're going to be searching," Obst said.
Gallagher’s family planned to be on site for the duration of the search and said they’re grateful for the efforts of so many.
“In whatever form it has to be, if Megan can come home, that's an important piece,” Megan's dad Brian told CTV News before the announcement of the discovery.
"If it is true that she was dropped off the bridge or disposed of in the river here, she's with her ancestors. That's the only solace that I can get," he said.
Obst says the investigation has led police to believe gang activity was a factor, but called Gallagher’s involvement in the gang world “questionable."
Gallagher’s family says Megan knew people in gangs, but was not in a gang.
“The people charged are gang related. Megan is not gang affiliated,” Brian Gallagher said.
The discovery of the human remains came the same day as police announced an eighth person was accused in Gallagher's death.
Robin Tyler John, 34, was arrested on Thursday at a correctional facility on the Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation, according to police.
He had been serving a sentence unrelated to the homicide, SPS said.
Correction
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated police had confirmed the identity of the remains.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.