Teen left for dead meets her rescuer
FIRST NATIONS: Vicious assault on Rinelle Harper sharpens focus on violence against aboriginal women
WINNIPEG — Just two weeks after being beaten, thrown in the river and left for dead, a shy Rinelle Harper made her first public appearance on Thursday night, saying nothing yet demonstrating her will to recover.
The 16-year-old emerged from her convalescence to thank one of the construction workers who found her on the banks of the Assiniboine River on the morning of Nov. 8, seven hours after she had been attacked.
There was redness in her right eye, and her face remained slightly swollen, but it has been by all appearances a remarkable physical recovery for the teenager.
The vicious assault, coming so soon after the body of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine was found in the Red River, has renewed debate about violence against aboriginal women.
“Her fast recovery is a miracle from above,” said Fred Harper, Rinelle’s grandfather.
She was too shy to speak to the throng of media that had gathered at a Winnipeg hotel; her family pleaded not to broadcast her face.
Grand Chief David Harper, of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, said she is expected to recover but is still suffering from her injuries.
“Even the other day she was saying that she wants to go to basketball tryouts. They’re happening this week. She’s saying that, but she’s not near physically able to do her tryouts,” David Harper said.
“But there’s hope. She has hope. We’re both laughing about it, so it’s something she still hasn’t given up.”
Also present at the meeting was Sean Vincent, one of the two men who found her and called police.
“At the end of the day, she’s the hero; she’s the one who pulled through this and lived through it,” he said.
Vincent struggled to describe the scene.
“All you can think is this is somebody’s little girl lying here on the freaking thing,” he said. “It was ... just a bad sight. It was a very bad sight. No one should have to go through that in this lifetime, or the next lifetime for that matter.”
Police have said Rinelle was out with friends celebrating the completion of her midterms on the night of Nov. 7.
She got separated from her friends and struck up a conversation with two males. The three walked to the Assiniboine River where police say Rinelle was attacked and ended up in the frigid water.
She managed to crawl out upstream, but was attacked again and “left for dead,” police said.
Police alleged the same pair beat and sexually assaulted another woman a short time later. A 17-yearold boy and 20-year-old Justin James Hudson are facing numerous charges in the two assaults, including attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault.
Both are to appear in court next week.