Cpl. Kelly Risling thinks the least he can do for someone who dies in anonymity and stays without a name year in, year out, is try to solve the mystery of who they are.
The head of the RCMP鈥檚 Unidentified Human Remains Unit works hand in hand with the sa国际传媒 Police Missing Persons Centre to help families find out what happened to their loved ones, no matter how long ago they went missing.
It took nearly 21 years to solve the mystery of the man who was found dead on View Street on Oct.聽22, 1994. Kenneth William Boseley was publicly identified in July. But that leaves still unidentified 181 other bodies found in sa国际传媒, the highest number in any province, said Risling, who estimates there are 350 unidentified bodies in sa国际传媒.
The oldest sa国际传媒 case on file dates back more than 50 years to 1962 in Lillooet, and the list includes a baby abandoned after birth. On or near Vancouver Island, the oldest of 25 cases dates to 1972 in Ganges, on Salt聽Spring Island.
鈥淎t VicPD, we have only one file that I know of, and it is from 1988,鈥� said Det. Const. Chantal Ziegler, who was instrumental in confirming Boseley鈥檚 identity. The body of the Caucasian male was found in bushes along Dallas Road on July 18, 1988. He was estimated to be 50 to 60 years old, five-foot-nine and 180 to 190 pounds, with shaggy grey hair and long sideburns.
There were no signs of foul play.
In sa国际传媒, there are a total of聽2,455 missing persons 鈥� 2,003聽males and 452 females, Risling said. Of those, 500 to 550 are attributed to Vancouver Island, but the number changes daily. Although 13 per cent of sa国际传媒鈥檚 population resides in sa国际传媒, about 25 per cent of the country鈥檚 7,460聽missing persons are from this province. His unit is attached to the RCMP鈥檚 E Division Major Crime Section.
When remains are found, they are sometimes so badly decomposed that gender cannot be established, Risling said, but the majority turn out to be male.
鈥淢en often have a higher-risk lifestyle,鈥� he said, and are more likely to take chances that result in accidental death.
sa国际传媒 attracts some people from other parts of the country who are trying to avoid arrest warrants, Risling said.
鈥淪ome months, we won鈥檛 have any identifications and then two or three are made quickly a few months later, depending on the flow of information from sa国际传媒 police agencies,鈥� he said. 鈥淩ight now, my unit has the largest file load out of any unit under the RCMP major-crime umbrella 鈥� I聽know for sure in British Columbia, and I would venture to say in sa国际传媒.鈥�
sa国际传媒鈥檚 Identification and Disaster Response Unit is one of the only specialty coroner units in sa国际传媒. Police refer missing-persons files to the unit once all other means have been exhausted as to the identity, said coroner Laurel Clegg, manager of the unit.
鈥淥ur ultimate goal is always dignity for the deceased,鈥� she said.
Police are responsible for missing persons; coroners have authority over unidentified bodies, whether or not a homicide is suspected. In recent years, the two services have been working together more closely.
鈥淎 lot of what is happening in sa国际传媒 is going countrywide,鈥� Clegg said.
Part of the Office of the Chief Coroner in the sa国际传媒 Ministry of Justice, Clegg鈥檚 unit was developed in 2007 by coroner Stephen Fonseca. Risling now has had two constables assigned to work with him, a marked improvement from the past.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 new about identifying human remains is not about new technology,鈥� Risling said. 鈥淏asically, it鈥檚 a new era of co-operation between RCMP and the coroners鈥� office.鈥�
That, he said, ensures as much information as possible is collated, accessible and shared about bodies that are unidentified and people who have been reported missing. Because after 鈥渁 sufficient amount of time and degradation,鈥� even DNA can no longer work in identification, he said.
鈥淚n the old days, when it came to investigating missing persons and unidentified bodies and trying to make a correlation between the two, it came down to a police officer鈥檚 memory,鈥� Risling said.
鈥淭here was really no accurate means of keeping track of these things. A policeman would have to have in his mind the missing persons who came across his desk and also be aware of any unidentified bodies that happened to be floating through the system.鈥� Given other pressing daily police tasks, missing persons would sometime 鈥渇loat over to the side,鈥� he said.
Now there are many more facets to providing information to identify both missing persons and unidentified remains, he said.
