OPP seek public assistance to identify female remains

KENORA, ON, June 17 /PRNewswire/ - The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Kenora Detachment and members of the OPP Missing Persons Unidentified Bodies Unit are seeking the public's help to identify human remains found one year ago in the City of Kenora.

The body of an unidentified female was discovered in a small tent located in a wooded area near Miller Rapids Road on June 17, 2009. Investigation has revealed that the deceased was at that site for no longer than one week before her body was discovered. OPP investigators believe foul play was not a factor in her death.

The deceased was a light-skinned female, between the ages of 26 and 50 years, approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing approximately 110 pounds, with shoulder length light brown hair. She was wearing oval-shaped eyeglasses with wire rims across the top of the lenses, and three (3), coloured, bead necklaces. She was also wearing a black, cotton, long-sleeved tee-shirt, a pair of dark blue or black "Midtown"-brand jeans (size 6P), and a pair of black, ankle-high, "Rugged Outback"-brand walking or hiking shoes with very well worn soles. The investigation revealed that the deceased experienced extensive reconstructive jaw surgery -- likely done in a major centre. It is also likely that the deceased wore braces into adulthood and was a smoker.

"The individual deserves to be identified and her loved ones deserve to know what happened to her," said OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino. "We are confident family members, friends, co-workers or a surgeon will come forward to help identify this person."

Photos of the scene surroundings and other information that may help identify this individual are available for the public to view at www.missing-u.ca. Anyone with information may contact the Kenora OPP Detachment at (807) 548-5534, your local police service, CrimeStoppers, or by visiting the Resolve Initiative website at www.missing-u.ca

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    BACKGROUNDER

             OPP Missing Persons Unidentified Bodies Unit (MPUB)
                             "Resolve Initiative"

    As of June 1, 2010, there were:

    -   7,019 people in Canada listed as 'missing' on the Canadian Police
        Information Centre (CPIC) database.
    -   1,440 of those are listed as 'missing' from Ontario.
    -   342 of those are missing from OPP jurisdiction.

OPP MPUB has 383 unsolved missing persons in its database, 314 of which are on the website

OPP MPUB has 187 unsolved unidentified bodies in the database, 109 of which are on the Resolve Initiative website

The OPP Missing Persons Unidentified Body Unit (MPUB) has developed a partnership with the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario (OCC) to allow for comparisons of OPP information on missing persons with OCC data on unidentified remains, resulting in "The Resolve Initiative."

Utilizing current, web-based technologies, and allowing public access to certain information, the Resolve Initiative maximizes the potential for locating missing persons and identifying found human remains. Since May 2006 (to date), 33 missing persons and ten (10) unidentified remains cases have been solved through the Resolve Initiative. The Resolve Initiative has provided 1,158 tips for investigators and prompted 8.3-million hits to the www.missing-u.ca website.

Recognizing public input has often plays an important role during investigations, OPP-MPUB proactively includes missing people from municipal and First Nations police services with their prior approval. There is also a working agreement to share the software with the British Columbia Coroner's Service and a resolution from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police supporting integration of all such case information into a single database.

Using technology and remaining vigilant by updating case information, members of OPP-MPUB have been able to directly solve more than 43 cases that otherwise would have been assigned to front-line investigators.

SOURCE Ontario Provincial Police