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
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.