PonderingThings
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http://www.940news.com/nouvelles.php?cat=23&id=122139
RCMP investigate human remains found near community north of Regina at 15:33 on December 21, 2005, EST.
REGINA (CP) - RCMP have determined that partial skeletal remains found in a rural area of Saskatchewan are that of a woman, but they still don't know who she is.
Cpl. Brian Jones said Wednesday that officers are not sure how old the woman may have been when she died, but he could confirm that the remains were not those of a child. That would rule out that the remains belong to Tamra Keepness, a five-year-old girl who disappeared from her Regina home in July 2004. No trace of her was ever found despite a massive search effort at the time.
There are 28 unsolved missing persons cases involving women in Saskatchewan and Jones sympathized with the uncertainty the discovery has created among friends and family.
"We are absolutely cognizant of . . . how everyone's thoughts turn to families, especially during the Christmas season, and if we can provide answers . . . quickly. . . we will," Jones said.
"At this point in time it is an assumption by investigators - not to the exclusion of any other possibility - that the remains may be those of one of the current 28 missing Saskatchewan women."
Police hope to know more about the identity after an autopsy. DNA analysis and dental records will be used.
But Jones said he's not expecting to know much more until well into January.
The remains were found Tuesday along the banks of the Qu'Appelle River by people on horseback near Southey, a community about 50 kilometres north of Regina.
Jones said police are not sure whether the remains washed up from the river or were dumped.
Investigators were on the scene Wednesday and planned to use sniffer dogs to look for further evidence.
The discovery came a month after the Saskatchewan government announced it was spending $2 million over the next three years on a task force to look into missing persons cases.
There are 82 open missing persons files in the province that date back to the 1940s.
The lion's share of the money is going to fund six new investigators with the RCMP and one new position each for municipal forces in Regina and Saskatoon.
RCMP investigate human remains found near community north of Regina at 15:33 on December 21, 2005, EST.
REGINA (CP) - RCMP have determined that partial skeletal remains found in a rural area of Saskatchewan are that of a woman, but they still don't know who she is.
Cpl. Brian Jones said Wednesday that officers are not sure how old the woman may have been when she died, but he could confirm that the remains were not those of a child. That would rule out that the remains belong to Tamra Keepness, a five-year-old girl who disappeared from her Regina home in July 2004. No trace of her was ever found despite a massive search effort at the time.
There are 28 unsolved missing persons cases involving women in Saskatchewan and Jones sympathized with the uncertainty the discovery has created among friends and family.
"We are absolutely cognizant of . . . how everyone's thoughts turn to families, especially during the Christmas season, and if we can provide answers . . . quickly. . . we will," Jones said.
"At this point in time it is an assumption by investigators - not to the exclusion of any other possibility - that the remains may be those of one of the current 28 missing Saskatchewan women."
Police hope to know more about the identity after an autopsy. DNA analysis and dental records will be used.
But Jones said he's not expecting to know much more until well into January.
The remains were found Tuesday along the banks of the Qu'Appelle River by people on horseback near Southey, a community about 50 kilometres north of Regina.
Jones said police are not sure whether the remains washed up from the river or were dumped.
Investigators were on the scene Wednesday and planned to use sniffer dogs to look for further evidence.
The discovery came a month after the Saskatchewan government announced it was spending $2 million over the next three years on a task force to look into missing persons cases.
There are 82 open missing persons files in the province that date back to the 1940s.
The lion's share of the money is going to fund six new investigators with the RCMP and one new position each for municipal forces in Regina and Saskatoon.
