GARDEN HILL FIRST NATION — Police are asking for more help to find a missing 16-year-old girl from a remote Manitoba Indigenous community.
Island Lake RCMP received a report on July 31 that Tammy Nattaway had been missing since mid-July. Officers determined she was last seen July 2 by a family member from the Garden Hill First Nation.
Police say Tammy has not been active on social media since she disappeared from the fly-in community, about 475 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.
Investigators have been trying to find the teen by conducting interviews, following up on tips, reviewing all passengers who have flown in and out of Garden Hill, and searching the area.
They say Tammy is five-feet tall, weighs about 100 pounds and has short black hair and brown eyes.
Police say the Garden Hill First Nation is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to finding the teen.
It’s not the first time the community of about 2,500 has been in upheaval over the disappearance of a young girl.
Teresa Robinson was 11 when she disappeared after leaving a birthday party on May 5, 2015. She wasn’t reported missing to RCMP until six days later.
Searchers found her remains in a wooded area. It was initially believed she had been killed by a bear.
Injuries uncovered during an autopsy, however, led to a lengthy homicide investigation that included RCMP collecting hundreds of voluntary DNA samples from male residents in Garden Hill.
In December 2017, a teen who had given a sample to police admitted he killed the girl while sexually assaulting her.
RCMP say that based on information available in the latest case, it’s believed Tammy is still within the area known as Island Lake, which includes three First Nations communities.
They also say, although unlikely, there is the possibility that the teen managed to get on a plane to Winnipeg.