The remains of Bernard Hart, the 36-year-old man from Oxford House First Nation who was reported missing on June 6, were sent back to his home community on Oct. 30.
Shortly after he was declared missing it was determined that Hart was last seen in Thompson on June 4. On July 8 his remains were located in a wooded area on the east side of the city.
The original post-mortem investigation failed to determine the cause of death, but after further investigation the RCMP concluded that Hart's death was a homicide.
On Oct. 22, RCMP attended the Oxford House First Nation and, under the authority of an exhumation order from Dr. Thambirajah Balachandra, the chief medical examiner of the Province of Manitoba, exhumed Hart's remains to conduct further forensic examinations.
A second post mortem examination took place at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre on Oct. 24, with a forensic anthropologist assisting. Although the details of the examination are not being released at this time, RCMP are continuing to investigate Hart's death as a homicide.
The remains of Hart were released to his family on Oct. 30.
The RCMP D Division's serious crime unit, major crime units from Winnipeg and Thompson and the Thompson Forensic Identification Section are assisting in the investigation. RCMP are requesting that anyone with information on the murder of Hart call the Thompson RCMP at 677-6909 or Manitoba Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
