Remains found at Vanier construction site identified as missing Inuk woman Mary Papatsie

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Human remains found in the backyard of a destroyed apartment building in Vanier have been identified as Mary Papatsie, an Inuk mother of 10 who was reported missing in May 2017, police say.

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Construction workers digging in the backyard behind a triplex at 147 Deschamps Ave. found the remains last month. The triplex had been vacant for more than a year while undergoing renovations.

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The case is now in the hands of Ottawa homicide investigators.

Papatsie was last seen alive on April 27, 2017 in Vanier. She was not reported missing until five weeks later.

As the weeks turned into months and years after her disappearance, friends and family were concerned about the lack of attention to the disappearance and that Papatsie had joined the ranks of missing and murdered indigenous women.

On June 11, 2017, the police released their first concise bulletin, asking for the public’s help. Papatsie was described as being five feet two inches tall, 140 to 160 pounds, with long straight hair and a scar above her left eye from a piercing.

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By July 17, the investigation had improved and the Ottawa police main crime unit took over the file “because of some red flags that suggested this is not just a missing person case.”

Papatsie grew up in Pangnirtung in Nunavut, but had lived in Ottawa for about 10 years. In 2017, her oldest children were teenagers.

Two of her children have been adopted and two others were no longer in her care. She had frequently been in contact with relatives who lived in Ottawa.

At the time of his disappearance, he was known to frequent the area across the street from the Jean Coutu Pharmacy in Vanier on the corner of Montreal Road and Bégin Street. His brother, July Papatsie, said that he had an apartment in the West End, although he did not like it there.

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Supporters have worked to keep pushing for investigators to pursue every possible angle. At the time of her disappearance, friends and family said Papatsie had a boyfriend at Carleton Place, and she was believed to be with him in April 2017.

But there have also been reports that she was seen with another man on Montreal Road, possibly on May 4 and 11, 2017.

Papatsie’s family has expressed frustration at the investigation.

In February 2018, relatives said they had little confidence in the police investigation into the woman’s disappearance or the national investigation into the missing and murdered indigenous women.

“Mary Papatsie’s family and loved ones have little or no confidence in the MMIW investigation and the police handling the cases,” the family said in a statement.

Ottawa police are asking anyone with information to contact the homicide unit at 613-236-1222, extension 5493. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477.