A Lethbridge man with two prior charges in relation to the death of an Indigenous woman found dead in Lethbridge County now faces a charge of manslaughter.
Thirty-four-year-old Tia Blood was reported missing on Oct. 19, 2022. About five days later, Lethbridge Police Service’s criminal investigation unit was called to an area west of the city and located a body as part of the ongoing missing persons investigation.
An autopsy that week confirmed the body found was Blood’s.
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“This news has devastated our large and loving family,” a statement from Blood’s family read following the news of the autopsy results.
Later on, police arrested 20-year-old Hunter Alexander Frank of Lethbridge in relation to the investigation. He was charged at that time with offering an indignity to human remains and two counts of theft under $5,000.
On Jan. 27, 2023, the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit arrested Frank at the Lethbridge Correctional Center. Mounties said he’s also charged with manslaughter and trafficking a controlled substance in relation to the death of the 34-year-old.
Frank remains in police custody and will appear in Lethbridge Provincial Court on Feb. 13.