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Search teams in the Canadian province of Manitoba have begun excavating an area at a local landfill for the remains of two indigenous women.
It marks a critical phase in the search for the bodies of Marcedes Myron, 26, and Morgan Harris, 39, and comes almost exactly two years after their families were told they were dead.
Both were killed in 2022 by a man now serving life in prison for their murders and for the deaths of two other women.
Manitoba officials initially declined to conduct the landfill search, saying it would be too costly and would put the health of search personnel at risk.
Indigenous leaders and families of the women led a lengthy campaign for a search for the women's bodies to move ahead.
The two women's bodies are believed to have been dumped at the Prairie Green Landfill, north of the city of Winnipeg, after they were killed.
Serial killer Jeremy Skibicki was convicted last July for their murders, as well as for killing a third woman, Rebecca Contois, 24, and an unidentified woman who has been given the name Buffalo Woman.
All of his victims were indigenous. Their murders went undetected for months, until a man looking for scrap metal in a bin outside Skibicki’s apartment found partial human remains, identified as belonging to Ms Contois.
Skibicki later admitted killing Ms Myron, Ms Harris and Buffalo Woman in police interviews.
Some of Ms Contois remains were discovered in another local landfill, while the remains of the other three have never been found.
Last year, the province's newly elected premier, Wab Kinew, pledged C$20m ($14.25m; £11.26m) to search for the remains. The funds were matched by the federal government.
On Monday, Kinew said that the latest phase in the search began that morning, after crews pinpointed a specific area in the landfill where the remains are most likely to be.
“We found some items which indicate that we are in the right date range and time,” Kinew said in an update to the media. These items include flyers and milk cartons dated to the spring of 2022.
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A search facility has been built on site. It includes a large, heated steel structure where the excavated waste can be carefully sifted through. About 45 people have been hired for the search, which could last months.
Crews must wear layers of protective equipment to help shield them from asbestos and other hazards.
The premier said he had visited the site with the families of Ms Myron and Ms Harris on Monday, where they watched the first truck of excavated landfill material arrive at the facility.
“It is an intense emotion that you feel standing on that site with those families,” he said.
The premier said he hoped that the search will ultimately bring the families closure.
“No matter what lies ahead, we can say we tried,” he said.
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