Emotions ran high Tuesday evening, as friends and family paused to remember 21-year-old Christine Wood.
A sacred ceremony was held in the ditch where Wood's body was found last Thursday in the R.M. of Springfield.
Around 50 people came out, including Wood's parents, George and Melinda, who travelled from Oxford House for the special vigil.
The family said the reality is painful, but they are glad their daughter has been found.
“There’s an incredible mix of emotion from being grateful that they’re able to take their daughter home, and they weren’t sure they were able to do that. But also, seeing the reality of all of this,” said Christy Dzikowicz with Canadian Centre for Child Protection, who has been supporting the family since Wood went missing in August, 2016.
“I think this will be an important day to transform this spot for them to something quite beautiful at the end.”
Wood disappeared on August 19, 2016 after leaving a downtown Winnipeg hotel to go out for the evening. She had come to the city with her family from Oxford House, a remote First Nations community in northern Manitoba.
On Thursday, Wood’s remains were found buried in a ditch by a farmer who was checking his crops. An autopsy identified the remains as Wood’s on Friday.
In April, Brett Ronald Overby, 30, was arrested in connection with Wood’s disappearance and charged with second degree murder.
Overby made an appearance in a Winnipeg courtroom Monday for a bail hearing. The judge will make a decision on the matter on Thursday.
