Man charged with missing Indigenous man's murder in northern Ontario

Two people from northwestern Ontario have been charged after the body of a local missing Indigenous man was found, police say.

On Sept. 4, 45-year-old Buifford 'Beaver' Cowley, of Naotkamegwanning First Nation (Whitefish Bay First Nation) – 90 kilometres south of Kenora – was reported missing.

45-year-old Buifford 'Beaver' Cowley, of Naotkamegwanning First Nation (Whitefish Bay First Nation). (Facebook)

His remains were found in the Northwest Angle #33 First Nation area – near the Manitoba border -- by Treaty Three Police, the OPP Emergency Response Team and OPP Canine Unit, police said in a news release.

As a result of an investigation two people have been arrested in connection with his death, Ontario Provincial Police said.

A 29-year-old man from the victim's community is charged with second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body. He remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court in Kenora on Dec. 8.

The second person is a 23-year-old woman from Kenora with the same last name as the victim who has been charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact and indignity to a dead body. However, there is no confirmation that they are related. She is being held in custody and is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 1.

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None of the allegations has been proven in court.

The victim's obituary said he died Sept. 1, three days before he was reported missing.

"He grew up in Naotkamegwanning First Nation and truly enjoyed being with family, his children, fishing in all seasons, being out on the lake, walking around nature, tinkering with automobiles and had a great sense of humour," the obituary said.