Annual North Saskatchewan River sweep for missing persons to take place Wednesday
Police will be looking for human remains in the North Saskatchewan River valley on Wednesday.
The search by police, firefighters, city park rangers, and local search-and-rescue organizations is conducted annually in the fall when river levels are at their lowest.
"We start from pretty much Parkland County near Devon and we go almost all the way to Fort Saskatchewan," explained Insp. Brent Dahlseide of the major crimes unit Wednesday morning.
The distance covered will be about 75 kilometres.
Edmonton Police Service has led the search for about 10 years.
The North Saskatchewan River flows through a number of communities, and human remains are recovered from it or its shores each year.
The sweep is considered an unfortunate but necessary part of investigative work.
"Basically the whole search itself is to locate any known or unknown remains that may be in the river valley here. So this is missing persons that we've got reported to us, as well as any that may be unreported," Dahlseide said.
"Anything that we find today, obviously we're going to expand the investigation and continue to dig into that."
During the sweep, the river and its banks are assigned to searchers in a grid pattern. EPS and Edmonton Fire Rescue Service will be operating boats equipped with underwater cameras and sonar. As well, EPS will be using drones and its police service dog, Jolly, who is specially trained to find human remains, including those in water.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.