FORT SASKATCHEWAN — Wendy Yurko no longer has a glimmer of hope that her daughter is alive.
She said RCMP have told her a body discovered in a field in central Alberta is likely Dana Turner, and it looks like she was murdered.
“That little bit of hope that I had been trying to hold on to for dear life is gone,” Yurko said Wednesday from her home in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
“Now there’s going to be a huge black hole that nothing can fill for the rest of my life.”
RCMP confirmed a woman’s body was found Sunday 10 kilometres west of Innisfail, but the remains have not been officially identified.
Sgt. Tim Taniguchi said dental records or DNA will be used to identify the body. He added investigators believe the death is suspicious because of the condition of the remains.
Turner, 31, was last seen in the Edmonton area on Aug. 14 leaving a west-end hotel in a rental car with an unknown man.
Her mother said Turner struggled with addiction and mental health issues and had a few brief stays at Alberta Hospital.
While in hospital, Turner became romantically involved with another patient, Mark Lindsay, the son of a former Edmonton police chief.
In June, Lindsay stabbed Turner in the head with a paring knife at his apartment. Turner survived the attack, and Lindsay pleaded guilty to assault. He was sentenced to the 50 days he had already served in custody.
Yurko said Lindsay was released from jail two days before Turner was last seen. On Sept. 21, he was arrested near Kamloops, B.C., and charged with robbery and possession of a dangerous weapon. He remains in custody there.