—A body found outside an apartment complex last week has been identified as that of a heroic teen whose sister was murdered 19 years ago.
The family of 16-year-old Jocelyn McDonald was notified Tuesday that the body of their daughter, who went missing Oct. 16, had been found.
“It’s just awful,” Melody Bryant, McDonald’s aunt, said in a telephone interview. “She was just always a happy person.”
Police said last week they are treating the death as suspicious.
McDonald’s death wasn’t the first tragedy for her family. Her older sister was murdered almost two decades ago.
And the 16-year-old was a hero. In 1993, McDonald, then just seven years old, received the Star of Courage award after saving her five-year-old cousin from a child molester.
A funeral for McDonald will be held next week.
Police told the family the girl’s body will be returned to Kenora today from Toronto, where an autopsy determined the identity of the victim.
McDonald’s remains were found just metres from an apartment last Wednesday. The body was left untouched for two days while the area was scoured by investigators.
McDonald was reported missing by her family on Oct. 16. Kenora OPP didn’t treat the disappearance as suspicious because the teen previously had gone missing for days.
She was seen for the last time in late October at a party at an apartment less than 50 metres from where her body was found.
Grief counsellors are helping students at McDonald’s high school.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
