The body of a 16-year-old Sachigo Lake girl was found early Tuesday morning in woods adjacent to a recreational path in the County Park area.
Police immediately ruled it a homicide, the city’s fourth of 2010 and its third in September alone.
Det.-Insp. Phil Levesque of the Thunder Bay Police Service said police are investigating persons of interest in the case and expect to have more information to release on Wednesday morning.
“A passerby had located the body of deceased female,” Levesque said in an interview on Tuesday afternoon. “Our officers identified this as a homicide and at that time the scene was protected and we are processing (it) as we speak right now.”
Levesque said it was readily evident that the girl was a victim of foul play.
“The officer viewed the deceased and it was quite obvious at that time that there was trauma to the body and it was ascertained,” he said.
The teen had been in Thunder Bay for only a short time before her death. Police said they will not release the victim's name at this time because she is a youth.
A post-mortem examination has been scheduled for Thursday at Toronto’s Centre for Forensic Science. By 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the area where the body was discovered was still being processed by the police service's forensic unit and its criminal investigation branch.
It’s not how one nearby resident expected to start his day.
Al Laird started his morning routine as usual Tuesday morning. The retired mechanic was uncovering his tomato plants just after 7 a.m. when he heard screams coming from the wooded area behind his Wentworth Crescent home.
"I heard some screams some real loud screams like two or three times in a row and then everything was silent," said Laird as police stood guard at his back gate, blocking off the crime scene. "That’s not unusual for up here because I tell ya there are lots of shenanigans going on in the back."
Laird said the wooded area has been a problem for the neighbourhood.
Police, who couldn’t pinpoint an exact time of death, other than sometime overnight, could not confirm whether the scream was the girl’s or the passerby who discovered the body.
“The time of death is difficult to determine,” Levesque said.
Although he hasn’t seen a lot of violence, Laird said drinking and drug use is common
behind the home he’s lived in for 13 years. Unable to use a vehicle, Laird uses the path regularly to get groceries at County Fair.
He said his neighbours are cautious of the area.
"We don’t walk too much alone in the back here anymore," said Laird.
Police immediately ruled it a homicide, the city’s fourth of 2010 and its third in September alone.
Det.-Insp. Phil Levesque of the Thunder Bay Police Service said police are investigating persons of interest in the case and expect to have more information to release on Wednesday morning.
“A passerby had located the body of deceased female,” Levesque said in an interview on Tuesday afternoon. “Our officers identified this as a homicide and at that time the scene was protected and we are processing (it) as we speak right now.”
Levesque said it was readily evident that the girl was a victim of foul play.
“The officer viewed the deceased and it was quite obvious at that time that there was trauma to the body and it was ascertained,” he said.
The teen had been in Thunder Bay for only a short time before her death. Police said they will not release the victim's name at this time because she is a youth.
A post-mortem examination has been scheduled for Thursday at Toronto’s Centre for Forensic Science. By 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the area where the body was discovered was still being processed by the police service's forensic unit and its criminal investigation branch.
It’s not how one nearby resident expected to start his day.
Al Laird started his morning routine as usual Tuesday morning. The retired mechanic was uncovering his tomato plants just after 7 a.m. when he heard screams coming from the wooded area behind his Wentworth Crescent home.
"I heard some screams some real loud screams like two or three times in a row and then everything was silent," said Laird as police stood guard at his back gate, blocking off the crime scene. "That’s not unusual for up here because I tell ya there are lots of shenanigans going on in the back."
Laird said the wooded area has been a problem for the neighbourhood.
Police, who couldn’t pinpoint an exact time of death, other than sometime overnight, could not confirm whether the scream was the girl’s or the passerby who discovered the body.
“The time of death is difficult to determine,” Levesque said.
Although he hasn’t seen a lot of violence, Laird said drinking and drug use is common
behind the home he’s lived in for 13 years. Unable to use a vehicle, Laird uses the path regularly to get groceries at County Fair.
He said his neighbours are cautious of the area.
"We don’t walk too much alone in the back here anymore," said Laird.
