Volunteers sign up for Winnipeg landfill search

Upwards of 100 people have offered to help Winnipeg police find theremains of Tanya Nepinak at the Brady Road Landfill.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has put out a call for volunteers in an upcoming search for the remains of Nepinak, 31, who went missing in September 2011 and is presumed to be a victim of homicide.

Police charged Shawn Lamb, 52, with second-degree murderearlier this year in connection with Nepinak's death, but her body has never been found.

Then last month, Winnipeg police announced that they have reason to believe Nepinak's remains are at the city landfill, andthey would launch a search.

Assembly Grand Chief Derek Nepinak, a cousin of Tanya Nepinak, says he is submitting his list of willing volunteers to police Chief Keith McCaskill this week.

"We have a list of a little over 60 people," Nepinak told CBC News on Wednesday.

"Some of them are saying, 'We can bring 10 more with us when we come in.' So we're upwards of 100 people now."

Derek Nepinak said he has been looking for people with search and rescue experience.

McCaskill has said the search will be a "mammoth" undertaking, as it will take at least a month just to remove enough garbage to access the search site.

The police chief has estimated the chances of finding Nepinak's remains such as pieces of bone are at less than five per cent.

Nepinak said having so many people offering to help sends an important message.

"The people that we're losing on the streets of Winnipegthey come from communities, they come from families that love them," he said.

"It's about a social responsibility that we have to one another to take care of one another."