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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.