The family of a victim of an admitted serial killer is reflecting on the plan to search a landfill in Winnipeg.
The victim, 37-year-old Lorna Blacksmith, was one of nine victims of serial killer Shawn Lamb, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2013. Blacksmith’s remains were never found, and her family has been waiting for closure for nearly a decade.
Now, the Winnipeg Police Service is planning to search a landfill in the city’s Brady Road Resource Management Facility for Blacksmith’s remains. The search is set to begin on May 17 and is expected to last for two weeks.
Blacksmith’s sister, Brenda Blacksmith, says the family is grateful for the efforts of the police to find her sister’s remains. She hopes that this search will finally bring closure to their family.
“It’s been a long and painful journey for us,” Brenda said. “We’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, and we are hopeful that we will finally be able to lay Lorna to rest.”
The search is being conducted after new information was provided to the police by Lamb, who is currently serving a life sentence for the murders of Blacksmith and eight other women.
Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth says the search is a priority for the police and they are committed to finding Blacksmith’s remains.
“We understand the importance of bringing closure to the families of the victims,” Smyth said. “We will do everything in our power to locate Lorna’s remains and bring her home to her family.”
The search will involve a team of 20 officers, including forensic experts and cadaver dogs. The landfill will be sectioned off and searched systematically, with the use of heavy machinery to move the waste.
The police have also reached out to the community for any information that may assist in the search. They are asking anyone who may have seen Lamb in the area of the landfill in 2012 to come forward.
The Blacksmith family is urging anyone with information to come forward and help bring closure to their family.
“We are pleading with anyone who may have seen or heard anything to please come forward,” Brenda said. “We need to find Lorna and lay her to rest properly.”
The search for Lorna Blacksmith’s remains is a crucial step in bringing closure to her family and the other victims’ families. The police are determined to find her and give her family the closure they have been waiting for.
