Man charged in connection with Oxbow-area murder makes first court appearance

A 27-year-old man charged with accessory after the fact to murder made his first court appearance on Friday.

Tyler Shaw appeared by phone in Regina Provincial Court.

The Crown opposed Shaw’s release on bail. A bail hearing was scheduled for May 9 at Court of King’s Bench in Estevan.

On Thursday, the people in Oxbow were rattled after Mounties descended upon the community without an immediate explanation as to why. Around 5:30 p.m., the RCMP said officers were investigating a woman’s murder. 

Around noon on Thursday, a woman’s body was found in a rural location in the Rural Municipality of Moose Mountain. The RCMP hasn’t released the name of the woman.

The town’s landfill was closed for the day while police conducted searches, but the Mounties’ release said that search didn’t locate a body.

The Mounties’ investigation led to the arrest of Shaw, who hails from Gainsborough. A second arrest was made on Thursday afternoon in connection to the investigation, but the RCMP did not release the name of the man who was arrested or if he had been charged.

John Hutfloetz, who has lived in Oxbow for many years, said the town has never seen anything like this.

“I mean, why would you kill somebody? Anyway, I was kind of upset about it,” he said.

He said many people were shaken by the news.

The RCMP said the investigation is ongoing. People may continue to see an increased police presence on the White Bear First Nation, in the RM of Moose Mountain, and in Oxbow.