Police in Whitehorse say they don't believe the community is in danger following three recent homicides in the city.
Yukon RCMP officers found the bodies of Wendy Carlick, 51, and Sarah MacIntosh, 53, in a home on April 19.
Insp. Archie Thompson confirmed Tuesday that police are also investigating the death of 45-year-old Greg Dawson as a homicide. Dawson's body was found in a home on April 6.
Thompson said the cases are unrelated and there is no evidence suggesting any of the homicides are connected to the 2007 still-unsolved death of Carlick's daughter Angel Carlick.
"From what I know, and I can't speak to specifics within the investigation, we have no concrete information to suggest that any other citizen is at risk at this point."
Thompson noted police are aware of rumours about the case.
"Given the digital world we live in, information about the victims and their deaths began circulating on social media almost immediately."
Police have not released information on the causes of death or details about the crime scenes, citing the ongoing investigations.
Thompson said 35 officers are working on the cases, including many from specialized units within the RCMP.
Chief Doris Bill with the Kwanlin Dun First Nation said she knows that some members of the community are skeptical that the cases will be solved, but she encouraged people to support police.
"These crimes must be solved," she said.
Dawson and MacIntosh were members of Kwanlin Dun, and Bill said their deaths have opened old wounds.
"Our community right now is in shock, we're in disbelief and numb, there's a lot of questions being asked and not a lot of answers coming forward."
The deaths speak to the importance of the upcoming inquiry on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, Bill said.
"I think it underscores how important the inquiry is to here and how important it is for the inquiry to hear from families who have experienced this kind of trauma and what they go through and the lack of supports that are out there for these families," Bill said.
Carlick became an advocate for the issue after her daughter's body was found in a forested area outside of Whitehorse in 2007.
She wanted to share her daughter's story with the national inquiry, said Bill, who is co-chairwoman of the Yukon Regional Advisory Committee on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
"I think (the inquiry) is extremely important and not only for all the indigenous women who have been missing and murdered out there but for the indigenous men who have been missing and murdered out there as well." (Whitehorse Star)
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