A 23-year-old woman found dead on a Manitoba First Nation over the weekend was mauled by dogs, according to her family.

The body of Donnelly Rose Eaglestick was found outside on the ground Saturday morning, surrounded by about 30 dogs, by workers at the water treatment plant in Little Grand Rapids First Nation — a remote fly-in community 270 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

​A spokesperson for the RCMP, who are investigating the death of Donnelly Rose Eaglestick, said he was still awaiting the autopsy results.

But her aunt and uncle, Doris and Roderick Mayham, said they were told following an autopsy that Eaglestick died from injuries suffered during the mauling.

Doris Mayham, who raised Eaglestick, said she was a loving, caring mother of a five-year-old girl.

Eaglestick, 23, was a loving, caring mother, said the aunt who raised her. (Submitted)

The couple suspects Eaglestick was walking home from a friend's house the morning she died.

"There's no foul play or anything. There's just basically wounds that were inflicted by the dogs," said Roderick Mayham. "Time of death was between 1:30 and 3:30 in the morning. But she had been found, 6:30 in the morning, by people going to work."

He said his niece was a fun, loving person who never held a grudge, and was always happy to help him out by babysitting.

Community shocked, chief says

Little Grand Rapids Chief Roy Dunsford told CBC News that people in the area heard barking early Saturday morning.

​"There's people living on the other side of the road, [from] where they found [her] and they say they heard dogs barking, barking, barking at 3 in the morning," he said. "They thought the dogs were barking at a bear."

Dunsford said the community of about 1,000 is struggling with the news.

​"She was a good young woman," he said. "People are really shocked with what's really happened."

​​"I was just crying," he said, adding Eaglestick used to babysit his children.

Community members had planned to light candles and offer prayers Sunday evening, Dunsford said.

"I can't stop crying," said friend Millie Jasmine Pascal. "I can't believe she's gone ... she was a nice person. Loving and caring."