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
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.