Here's a look back at this year's top 10 news stories from May, as composed by tbnewswatch.com editor Leith Dunick:
1. Tragedy struck twice on May 6 when it was learned that 17-year-old Tammy Keeash of North Caribou Lake First Nation and 14-year-old Josiah Begg of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation both disappeared and were later found dead in local waterways. It took nearly two weeks for Josiah Begg’s body to be found and Thunder Bay Police were accused of mishandling both searches and criticized for quickly ruling both deaths as non-suspicious in nature.
2. Thunder Bay Police Chief J.P. Levesque was charged with obstruction of justice after a five-month investigation by the OPP, who had received a request from the RCMP. The charge was related to an investigation involving Mayor Keith Hobbs. Levesque was subsequently placed on administrative leave.
3. The province announced plans to build a long-awaited replacement for the Thunder Bay District Jail, a 325-bed facility that will also replace the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre. The District Jail, which opened in 1928, is the fifth-oldest in Ontario. The Correctional Centre opened in 1965. Combined the two existing facilities housed fewer than 250 inmates.
4. Twenty-one-year-old Edmond Clovis of Toronto was identified as the victim of a violent homicide that took place on North Marks Street. To date, no arrests have been made.
5. The Office of the Independent Police Review Directorate announced it was expanding its investigation into the systemic racism with Thunder Bay Police Service to include the deaths of Tammy Keeash and Josiah Begg.
6. A 38-year-old woman told police she escaped abduction on the city’s south side, after two males offered her a ride and then grabbed her by the arm and tried to force her into their vehicle. It began a city-wide hunt for a bluish-green Toyota Sequoia, with other women reporting similar abduction attempts.
7. A small group of protestors rallied at Victoria Park, complaining that Roots to Harvest’s community garden would lower property values, bring unwanted types to the neighbourhood and increase the area’s rat population. The garden, which the protestors said is actually an urban farm, went ahead despite their objections.
8. A Thunder Bay police officer helped thwart a potentially deadly incident at a North Carolina high school. A parent alerted the officer of disturbing content they had found online, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security arrested a teenager in possession of weapons, fireworks, dismantled shotgun and list of 12 possible victims.
9. The city began conducting safety audits of three high-priority local river areas, following through on a recommendation made at the conclusion of seven Indigenous students in Thunder Bay between 2000 and 2011. McVicar Creek, the McIntyre River and the Kaministiquia river were all put under the microscope. Discussions of fences and video cameras were also discussed as ways to prevent future tragedies.
10. Convicted drug trafficker John Tsekouras appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada to have his case heard one last time. He was sentenced in 2015 to more than 11 years in prison for his role in a local drug ring, but was released on bail while his appeal was in front of the courts.