NORTH WEST RIVER, N.L. — Following a tip from a medicine woman, members of the Cooper family in North West River found bones in a sweat lodge on Route 520.
RCMP is now examining the pieces of bones discovered on Saturday, July 20, to determine whether they are human or animal.
“… some bones or pieces of bones were located and reported to police,” said an RCMP spokesperson in an email. “They have been seized and are being examined to determine if they are human.”
Luke Cooper went missing from North West River in July of 2018. According to an RCMP press release from the same time, it is believed Cooper fell into the water while canoeing in the early morning of July 15. The RCMP has stated since then that they don’t believe foul play was involved in his disappearance.
The Cooper family, however, have been investigating their own leads for the past year. Several people have told them stories that suggest Luke Cooper did indeed meet with foul play the morning he disappeared.
On July 20, a member of the Cooper family was talking to someone on the phone who had a vision that Luke’s body was burned, and they should check out a lodge. Sheila Cooper described this person on the phone as a ‘medicine woman’.
“She wasn’t sure if it was a fishing lodge or what not, so me and Ann (Cooper) went up to the sweat lodge to have a look because it’s the only lodge we know of,” said Sheila.
“Sure enough, we found bones in three separate fire pits, so that piqued our interests.”
The Coopers collected some bone fragments and brought them to the Sheshatshiu RCMP. The RCMP collected the fragments and went to the sweat lodge to check out the fire pits, according to Sheila Cooper.
According to Sheila, this isn’t the first time the family has received a tip on Luke’s disappearance from a psychic or seer of visions.
“Some of us are not that into psychics, but what harm can it do?” said Sheila.
The Labrador Voice will keep you updated on the results of the bone examinations.
