Winnipeg police are asking for the public’s help in cracking a missing-person case that investigators fear will have a tragic ending.
Miranda Belle, 31, has been missing since the evening of Aug. 17, when she was last seen in the Grant Park area.
Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Rob Carver said Wednesday investigators believe Belle was the victim of foul play and her body may have been dumped in a rural area outside the city.
“We’re not confident that we’re going to find Miranda alive. At this point — (I) really I wish I could say something different — we’re really looking for closure for the family,” he said.
Belle is described as a Métis woman, five-foot-six, 100 pounds, with medium-length brown hair and blue eyes.
Family members who were at Wednesday’s police press conference issued a public plea for information that could lead to the discovery of Belle’s whereabouts.
The evening she went missing, she reportedly placed a distress call to an acquaintance saying she feared for her safety.
Investigators believe they know what happened to her, and have also identified a suspect or suspects, but have reached an impasse in the investigation, Carver said.
Police are asking residents and businesses in and around Winnipeg to search their properties, fields and outbuildings.
Anyone with information on Belle’s disappearance, or who saw anything suspicious during the evening of Aug. 17, is asked to contact investigators at 204-986-6250.
The case is being handled by both missing person and homicide investigators.
Police have also identified a vehicle — a grey 2012 Dodge Caravan — they believe could have been involved in Belle’s disappearance.
