Human remains found at the northeast edge of Red Deer on Friday have been shipped to the Calgary Medical Examiner for analysis.
Police have released very little detail about the remains, found in a wooded area adjacent to McKenzie Trails, north of 67th Street and west of 30th Avenue.
It is apparent that the remains had been there for a “considerable amount of time,” Cpl. Kathe DeHeer, media liaison for the Red Deer City RCMP said in a statement released late Friday. DeHeer did not say whether that meant weeks, months or years, nor did she give a further description of the state of the remains.
Sgt. Patrick Webb, media spokesman for the RCMP in Southern Alberta, said on Sunday that police hope the Medical Examiner will be able to start work on the remains today.
However, that will depend on whether there are other priorities on the case load, he said.
DeHeer could not be reached to discuss whether the remains could have been one of a handful of people who have disappeared from locations in or near Red Deer during the past 10 years.
The Alberta Missing Persons web site, jointly operated by a variety of police agencies along with the provincial medical examiner’s office, contains files for at least two people who have disappeared in the Red Deer area.
A local man, Kevin Glen Purdy, was least seen leaving his home in Clearview Meadows on Aug. 22, 1999. Purdy, who was 31 at the time of his disappearance, was supposed to be on his way to visit his brother in Sylvan Lake, but never arrived.
His vehicle, a Dodge pickup truck, was found in parked in a gravel pit near the west bank of the Red Deer River, just north of the city.
Purdy is also listed with the Doe Network, which keeps files on missing persons across North America.
Information on its pages states under medical conditions that Purdy had bipolar.
Also listed on the provincial website is Heather Joanne Miller, who was last seen on June 7, 1992, after being released from the Red Deer City RCMP detachment. Police believe that Miller, 29 at the time of her disappearance, had moved back to her home in Merritt, B.C.
The search also continues for a man who lived with his sister in Red Deer for a short time and disappeared after moving in with cousins in Edmonton.
Dylan Steven Koshman was 21 when he went left his home on Oct. 12, 2008 after an argument.
His wallet was found nearby, but searchers have found nothing since then.
Innisfail RCMP also launched a search late in November for Bruce Thacker, 50, who had not been seen since Friday, Nov. 20.
As of Sunday, Innisfail RCMP had not received any information to indicate that Thacker had been found.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com
