The search continues for a missing woman from the Rural Municipality of Piney. Seventy-year-old Jean Backman was last seen at her residence three weeks ago.

Her daughter Vanessa Backman says they continue with ground searches. She notes numerous organizations have offered their support with the search. 

According to Corporal Julie Courchaine with Manitoba RCMP, an extensive search was conducted on the weekend of October 20th to 23rd. She notes the investigation is ongoing and officers continue to conduct interviews and follow-up on all tips. Courchaine says they have received a couple of tips but nothing that has led to finding her. 

"Investigators have been in contact with family and want nothing more than to find Jean and get answers for her family," says Courchaine.

Backman says they have also worked with the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team (HEART), which was able to support search efforts using recovery boats. 

"By airboat, we were able to access different locations within a certain distance of trail walks that were difficult to get to without walking for a longer period of time," she explains. "So that was really great to do a process of elimination."

Living in a very remote area with a lot of crown land and large properties, Backman says there is optimism that hunters might begin accessing hunting shacks or blinds and could locate her that way. 

"So there are a lot of possibilities that make our search efforts very hopeful," admits Backman.

Right now, she is asking that people with trail cams view them as quickly as possible, just in case they spot something unusual that could act as a tip. 

"And if you have any buildings on your properties or trails, we just encourage you to possibly go through the different buildings," she asks.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Sprague RCMP at 204-437-2041.

Jean Backman was last seen at her residence on October 16th. Her daughter says to the best of their knowledge she was planning on staying home that day and had no plans on leaving. 

Backman says they will continue to be hopeful. She is extremely appreciative of the support felt from far and wide.

"The community, both near and far has shown a great level of care and compassion for this missing person's case," says Backman. "We definitely appreciate everything, and we are hopeful that she will be home soon."

According to Backman, there are still a number of people that are actively searching for her mother. 

"We have a new crew coming in tomorrow and a crew just left today," she says. "And the focus was again, ground search."

Backman says there are other search teams coming this week and she is hopeful that they can continue to cover more ground and continue to eliminate the possibilities for where she could be. She points out that the change in weather over the last two weeks has certainly made the task that much more difficult.

 

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