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Crews working to find the remains of an Atikamekw baby have concluded their search Tuesday afternoon — which did not yield the results a Manawan family was hoping for.
Quebec’s Superior Court authorized exhumation work in Joliette, Que., which began Monday morning.
It was an attempt to find the body of Laureanna Echaquan.
In 1973, at two months old, she was placed, alone, on a plane from Manawan bound for a hospital to treat pneumonia in Joliette, 180 kilometres away.
She never returned home.
In the family’s search for answers in the 50-plus years that followed, administrative discrepancies left them with more questions.
This spring, Quebec Superior Court Justice Chantal Chatelain authorized the exhumation work in four sectors after the request was made by the Atikamekw family.
The search areas in Joliette were chosen for the work based on accounts from Laureanna’s parents, social workers and the work of historical human remains detection dogs.
But after searching all four sections surrounding a soccer field, nothing was found, resulting in this search coming to an end.
A spokesperson for the family says they are considering the next steps, but that the search for their loved one will continue.