Missing man identified as person found dead in Maskwacis, Alta., house fire; murder charge laid
Tyler Johnson, 26, has been identified as the person found dead in a house fire near Maskwacis, Alta. (Source: EPS).
EDMONTON -
A 26-year-old Grande Prairie man that was last heard from in January has been identified as the person found dead in a house fire in Maskwacis in March.
Edmonton Police Service released a missing person notification about Tyler Johnson on Feb. 4.
Police said he had not been heard from since Jan. 12, and they considered his disappearance to be out of character. At the time, EPS said it wasn’t known if “foul play” was involved.
On Mar. 8, RCMP found human remains in a house that burned to the ground near Maskwacis.
Investigators enlisted the help of an anthropologist, medical examiner and human remains detection dog to locate and identify Johnson.
An autopsy was scheduled shortly after, and police announced the results on Thursday.
Brianna Ruf-Dietz, a 32-year-old Red Deer resident, has been charged with murder in the case. She was arrested on Oct. 12 in Edmonton.
Ruf-Dietz has since appeared in court and is being kept in police custody until her next appearance at Wetaskiwin provincial court on Oct. 26.
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