Pelly Bay (Mar 20/06) - A five-year-old girl whose body was found in a Kugaaruk shed was murdered, police say.

The girl was last seen by her family on March 9 at around 8:30 p.m.

RCMP received a call sometime after midnight, and by 1 a.m. on March 10 a search was started.

Community members, Rangers and the RCMP scoured the community from 1 a.m. until 3 a.m. They resumed their search at 7 a.m.

The girl's body was found at 9:30 a.m.

RCMP say she was found by someone other than an RCMP member, but wouldn't say who.

Once the girl was found, Iqaluit RCMP dispatched four members of the major crime unit to the community.

The girl's body was flown to Winnipeg for an autopsy on March 12 because bad weather hampered flights south. The investigators changed their description of the crime from a "suspicious" death to "homicide" after the autopsy was complete.

At the request of the family, the RCMP are not releasing the name of the victim.

Members of the community are treating the matter with discretion as well. The school and the hamlet office, including the mayor, respectfully declined to comment on this story, to honour the family's wishes.

Health centre councillors are helping the community cope with their grief.

The four major crime officers will remain in the community to continue their investigation. No charges had been laid by Nunavut News/North's deadline.