Two sets of human remains were found west of Cochrane this past week.
The first set of remains were found on Jan. 25 by a Stoney Nakoda First Nation resident when his dog discovered human bones on the Nation.
Cochrane RCMP responded to the man’s reports and seized the bone, turning it over to the Calgary Chief Medical Examiner for assessment.
The first bone found by the dog was determined to be a human jawbone.
Cochrane RCMP, RCMP Major Crimes and RCMP Police Dog Services returned to the scene the following day, conducting a search of the area and found four bones.
The medical examiner confirmed two of the bones are from a human, a lower jaw and skull. The other two bones were ruled out as animal bones, according to Cpl. Curtis Peters.
“We don’t know how long the bones had been there – the temperature and environmental factors play a role on the composition,” Peters explained.
Peters said he did not know if the skull showed any signs of obvious trauma, noting, “animal activity influenced the bones.”
The corporal confirmed they were testing the bones to see if it matched missing persons cases in the area. At press time the bones, using dental records, were already tested to see if it matched one missing persons case and it was not a match.
Another test-match was underway on Wednesday.
The second set of human remains was discovered in a wooded area near the Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest, off of Highway 68, south of the Trans Canada Highway.
A male notified police on Jan. 29 when he found the human remains embedded in snow and ice. Cochrane RCMP, the Major Crimes Unit along with RCMP Forensic Identification attended the scene but due to the ice and snow condition, the Rocky View Fire Department was brought in to assist.
“They are still sorting out exactly what was found there, some of it is still in a frozen state,” Cpl. Laurel Scott said.
In both cases, the identity, gender and cause of death are unknown.
“We are not suggesting they are linked,” Scott said.
Every set of human remains found is treated as suspicious until known otherwise, Peters explained.
Once a body or human remains are found, investigators will compare the findings with missing persons from the area. Peters said investigators will be looking into missing persons cases from Cochrane, surrounding communities and Calgary. If possible, investigators also use dental records to compare and determine identity.
“In most cases when someone is reported missing, they are identified through that,” Peters explained.
Further examination by the medical examiner is scheduled to determine age, gender and ethnicity for the first remains found in Stoney Nakoda First Nation, and an autopsy will be scheduled for the second set of remains found in the Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest.
Anyone with information on either events is asked to call the Cochrane detachment at 403-932-2211 or if you want to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
