Six months after Tina Fontaine's lifeless body was discovered in Winnipeg鈥檚 Red River, the teen鈥檚 family is losing hope that her killer will ever be brought to justice.
Thelma Favel, Tina Fontaine's great aunt, said she can't shake the feeling that her niece's killer won't be caught.
"I have a feeling that Tina's case is going to go unsolved,鈥� she said.
Fontaine鈥檚 body was found wrapped in a bag in the river on Aug. 17. But six months later, investigators have yet to track down the perpetrator of Fontaine鈥檚 death. Police have now reached out to special forensics labs in the U.S. and Austria for help.
Despite the lack of arrest, Favel says she is grateful for the outpouring of support she has received in the wake of Fontaine鈥檚 death. It has helped her cope with her loss.
"We were really dreading Christmas, but the cards and letters and prayers that I've been receiving, it helped us through it," Favel told CTV Winnipeg.
Back in August, Fontaine鈥檚 death prompted renewed calls for an inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women. More than 2,000 people marched on the streets of downtown Winnipeg to mourn her death.
Lasting legacy
On Saturday, hundreds in the city braved freezing temperatures to continue to carry the torch in the call for justice for Canada's missing and murdered aboriginal women.
"You cannot allow for such a number of people to be killed, murdered or go missing, without there being some action," said Cyrl Keeper told CTV Winnipeg as he marched in the city鈥檚 downtown.
The RCMP released a report in 2014, which pegged the number of missing and murdered aboriginal women at 1,181.
The issue garnered further attention after an attack a few months later in Winnipeg on 16-year-old Rinelle Harper. Harper was left to die on the bank of the Assiniboine River, but recovered and spoke publicly about the need to end violence against women.
Favel believes that her niece's legacy will live on in the lasting effect it has had on the discussion surrounding missing and murdered aboriginal women.
Fontaine's death still resonated with the demonstrators who marched through downtown Winnipeg on Saturday.
"It affected all of us. It was something that struck a chord spiritually, emotionally and physically for all of us,鈥� said Nahanni Fontaine, a special advisor on aboriginal women鈥檚 issues for the Province of Manitoba.
With files from CTV Winnipeg
