Winnipeg police unsure about origin of bones found along Red River

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WINNIPEG — Volunteers searching the Red River in Winnipeg for murdered and missing aboriginal women have discovered some bones, but tests have yet to determine if they are human.

The bones were found late Tuesday afternoon in dried soil along the river near a busy bike trail in the city’s core area.

A short time later, a long, black commercial floor mat that appeared to be partly covered with blood was pulled from the river’s edge at a different location.

Police were sent to guard the sites and an identification unit arrived early in the evening.

Police duty Insp. Rick Lange says they’re unsure about the origin of the bones, but they will be tested to determine what they’re from.

The discoveries came just hours before the volunteers were to begin dragging the river for evidence of any missing and murdered women.

The decision to search the Red was made after the body of a 15-year-old aboriginal girl, Tina Fontaine, was pulled from the river last month near a dock in the downtown area.