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The Strathcona skeleton, age 25 to 50, was found June 5th, 2008.

The find was the Edmonton metro area's fifth homicide of the year.

Case status is open and active.

On June 5th, 2008 at approximately 8:00 p.m. Strathcona County RCMP received a call from a homeowner whose dog uncovered a human skull in a yard in the Belvedere Heights subdivision near Range Road 231 and Township Road 514, south of Sherwood Park.

The man covered the item and called police who immediately secured the scene. A further search of the property using a police service dog led to an entire skeleton being found in a small clearing among poplar trees, about 100 meters from the property's back gate.

The resources of RCMP Major Crimes North, Strathcona County RCMP and RCMP Forensic Identification Specialists were brought in and were expected to remain on the scene for most of the weekend.

"We simply don't know what we're dealing with. We have to treat the situation as if it were a homicide," Cpl. Darren Anderson told media.

"We have to treat it as if it was the most serious crime, which is a homicide. To do anything short of that would mean we're not doing our jobs. We could potentially miss a key piece of evidence if we did anything less"

Once an initial examination of the area was completed the remains were transported to the Medical Examiner's office. Police said it was not possible to determine the age, gender or how long the remains have been there.

The bones were scattered in the grass, not buried, Cpl. Anderson said. He was not able to say if the bones had been bleached by the sun, adding the amount of time it takes for a body to decompose is variable – depending on the temperature of the ground and microbe activity around it.

"That's an issue the medical examiner's office will have to determine," Anderson said.

As is the case in all suspicious deaths, Project KARE was notified but were not currently involved in the investigation.

The Strathcona County area has been the location of numerous bodies found, many of them persons with connections to the sex trade and other high-risk lifestyles.

An autopsy was completed on June 9th. However, RCMP said there was not a positive identification made on the remains.

The next day, RCMP issued a preliminary description of the victim.

The remains were that of a female, approximately 25 to 50 years of age, approximately 5-feet 3-inches (160 cm) tall, and possibly of Asian or aboriginal descent. It was noted the person had nice teeth with numerous fillings.

The Medical Examiner estimated the remains may have been there for as long as 9 to 24 months.

The discovery was officially ruled a homicide although the cause of death was listed as undetermined. Police said RCMP Major Crimes North continues to lead the investigation, with Project KARE providing assistance – the first indication the task force was actively involved.

Cpl. Darren Anderson afforded media some sound bites.

"Just the fact alone that the body was discovered in a remote location in a wooded area, that's suspicious enough," Anderson explained. "We are treating it as a homicide."

"We don't know exactly what we're dealing with or who we're dealing with," he added.

"There is a good chance percentage-wise that it is an Asian or Native female but we can't rule out any other race completely," Anderson said.

About the dental evidence, the officer expressed optimism.

"We do have good ability here in this case to get a confirmation through dental records. They are potentially an avenue that could lead us to an identity of the victim.

"They were straight – I don't know if it was a full set but from what I understand the teeth appeared cared for and they were what we would classify as nice teeth," Anderson said.

Concerning the site the body was found, Anderson said further work was contemplated.

"We are going to be doing more searches in the area. Search and Rescue are going to be doing an extensive ground search."

Anderson also clarified the role of Project KARE.

"They have a large database of missing persons in Alberta and that's just a logical place to start. That's not the only avenue that we're looking at – obviously we have to take into account other missing person databases as well."

It was also revealed that along with the human remains, police discovered animal bones.

Those with information about the remains were asked to contact Strathcona County RCMP at 780-467-7741, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.tipsubmit.com

Tips can also be text messaged. In Edmonton, text TIP250 + message and send to CRIMES (274637). In Northern Alberta, text TIP205 + message and send to CRIMES (274637).

The discovery of the bones came a week after two sets of human remains were found together near Lamont. RCMP later announced they were treating that matter as a homicide.

The Edmonton Sun contacted University of Alberta criminologist Bill Pitt for his assessment.

"It's a cemetery," Pitt said, estimating that at least 30 bodies have been found in the area since 1988.

Pitt noted gangsters may also be dumping dead rivals out there because of its thickly wooded areas.

"They're dropping zones for dead bodies. They are incredibly dense and make good places to hide bodies."

The area where the skeletal remains were found is a populated area surrounded by residential acreages and close to the Belvedere Golf Course.

"The proximity to other individuals is brazen, arrogant, someone who feels untouchable," Pitt said. "There may be more out there."

In an attempt to shed light on the identity of the remains, media seemed focused on the five women listed on the Missing Persons Cases page of the Project KARE web site.


Brower	Burke	Gunning	Knott	Ottenbreit

The five pictured above are a small subset of the total number of missing person reports received by police annually: nearly 8,000 a year by the Edmonton Police Service, with an equal number reported to the RCMP province-wide.

On February 12th, 2008 the RCMP, along with a number of municipal police agencies, established www.albertamissingpersons.ca, a website that allows public access to missing persons files that date back to the 1970s.

Additional missing persons cases can also be found on the Project KARE page maintained by this site.

In the wake of the discovery of skeletal remains near Sherwood Park, those close to the sex trade community were contacted for their reaction.

Concerning the description of the remains, prostitution activist Carol-Lynn Strachan said it fits that of many missing sex trade workers.

However, if she had nice teeth, she may not have been on the street long, if at all.

"She could have been working the street, but perfect white teeth, well maintained, this person if she was working wasn't there very long," said Strachan.

She added that most sex trade workers have bad teeth due to drug use, or are missing teeth due to violence by men.

Kathy King, acting executive director of the Prostitution Awareness and Action Foundation of Edmonton, was not surprised the victim was a woman.

"It was the news we were expecting to hear. We were afraid that it was going to be a female, and if it's a female chances are it's somebody known to us to in Project KARE," she said.

"My first reaction was that there was a good chance it would be someone known to us because the body was found in the corridor where a lot of missing women have been found. It seems to be a fairly common dumping ground."

King agreed the description matched many.

"Most of the women (in the sex trade) are on the small side and many of them are native," she said.

But whether the woman was a prostitute or not, King said the news will be tough for one family to take once the victim is identified.

"At least one family will have an answer, one family that's been waiting for answers.

"As tragic as it's going to be for whoever is named, at least one family will have the opportunity to give their loved one a proper burial and a proper service," King said.

Kathy King is the mother of Cara King.

Cara's body was found in a canola field near Highway 214 and Highway 16 near Sherwood Park on September 1st, 1997. She was 22.

On June 26th, 2008 RCMP announced their the investigation had eliminated a large percentage of existing missing person files in the Edmonton and Alberta areas.

Attention was now being turned to files from British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon and N.W.T.

Investigators acknowledged that the victim may not have been reported as a missing person.

Police asked that if anyone has not heard or had contact from an individual who meets the description in the last 9 to 24 months to contact Strathcona County RCMP at 780-467-7741, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.tipsubmit.com

Tips can also be text messaged. In Edmonton, text TIP250 + message and send to CRIMES (274637). In Northern Alberta, text TIP205 + message and send to CRIMES (274637).

deadmonton 2008 - the strathcona skeleton