RCMP Have a New Website Dedicated to Missing People of Canada and Unidentifed Remains

I was so glad to see the announcement the RCMP have started a Website for the Missing People of Canada and Unidentified Remains. There are thousands  of Missing People in Canada and over 7000 unidentified remains. I checked right away if I could find our son Michael Bosma who has been missing since January 10, 2006 on the site but he is not listed.  This is obviously a work in progress but it is a great step in the right direction however we still desperately need to have a Missing Persons DNA Data Bank for the Many Missing People of Canada. Many people are surprised there is NO DNA Data Bank for the thousands of Canadians that have been missing for years.

When you have a missing loved one the worst part is the unknown. The grieving process is a lot longer because its hard to grieve without feeling guilty…like you are giving up on finding your loved one. Your life is changed forever and even though you do eventually get on with your life your missing loved one is always in the back of your mind. You still have bad days..Anniversarys, birthday and any special occasions there are many tears, both shed and unshed. You learn to cry on the inside and you learn to carry on but if your loved one is found and you can bring them home I think there would somehow be some peace. I don`t know because our son has been missing now for over 7 years. Many people will talk about closure but is there really closure when you have lost a loved one?

It breaks my heart when I see a missing person in the media or posted on Facebook because I know the nightmare the family is living with.  Thankfully most missing people are found within the first day they are listed as missing. As time goes on and the days turn into weeks, then months and years its hard to stay positive and you finally have to admit that your loved one may never come home.

Hopefully  this new RCMP website for the Missing People of Canada will solve some of the Missing Persons cases and give a family a little peace.

 

DNA DATA BANK PETITION http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41301/signatures.html

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• Canada’s missing persons cases featured on new website (cbc.ca)
• Hundreds have gone Missing from BC, Canada in 2012 – Many are still missing (wenswritings.wordpress.com)

The Furry Four Legged Search and Rescue Crew are Amazing

I grew up with Border Collies and know they are very smart and love to round-up sheep, cows, ducks, and even people but I had no idea they were also really good at searching for missing people and pets. These two dogs in this video are rescue dogs and live for the search. Since 1986 the  International Canine Rescue Services of USA has located over 4000 missing persons and close to 4000 pets. The RCMP have dogs they use for tracking criminals and are sometimes used for missing person cases and The Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association does an amazing job of finding people lost in avalanches.

Alberta is very active in missing person cases and have a Search and Rescue Dog Association of Alberta and even have a Scent Dog News Letter that is produced quarterly. When someone goes missing the first few hours and days are the most important and with the help of the trained Rescue dogs many people have been located.

Check out these amazing dogs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J41Y6_YQBI&feature=share

Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association http://www.carda.ca/

Search and Rescue Dog Association of Alberta http://www.sardaa.ca/

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The Public doesn’t always find out the indentity of found Human Remains or Bodies

There have been several reports of bodies being found in BC recently. Last week a woman’s body was pulled from the Fraser River and a body was found in Powell lake.  There has been speculation that the body in Powell River is that of a business man who went missing in 1984 but I have been unable to find any information of a man from Powell River that is missing. During the course of searching however I did find a few more women of BC that have been missing, mostly Vancouver and sadly almost all are drug addicts that lived a risky life style. However all of these women have families, some even children who would like some answers. I found it very sad that these cases were so unknown and yet the families of these women are wondering and living with the unknown every day.

I have noticed over the past few years that when human remains are found  it is usually a small story in the media. If we are lucky the body will be identified within a short period of time and sometimes they will withhold the name as per the family wishes. But at least we know that these remains have been identified. I find it very frustrating when there is no more updates about the remains and the public, which includes many family and friends of missing loved ones are left in the dark, only to speculate who the body may be.

So we know that the authorities in Powell River think the body found is that of a missing business man from 1984 but that has not been confirmed that I can see in the media. Families with missing loved ones need to know that for sure the human remains and bodies have been identified.

I know I repeat myself a lot about the lack of a Missing Persons DNA Data Bank for Canada but if we had one I think the families of missing loved ones would feel a lot better knowing the DNA of their loved one can be eliminated right away. The DNA gathered for this Data Bank would be the nearest blood family members of the missing person. This is called familial DNA searching, which currently is not legal in Canada but is used in the United States and has solved many missing person cases over the years.  Canada  desperately needs to start using the great discovery of DNA to its full potential.

In the meantime family and friends with a missing loved one can only wait and see if they remains or body will be identified in the media. When you have someone you love go missing you become very aware of the bodies and remains that are found, especially if they are close to where your loved one went missing.  It would be nice to know  at least  the remains or body have been identified even if the name is not released.

Thinking of all the family and friends of missing loved who are waiting and wondering….

Missing Persons DNA Data Bank Petition on Line to show support  http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41301.html

Lindsey’s Law Page – http://www.lindseyslaw.com/howhelp.php

The Importance of DNA is shown with the arrest of the Murderer of Taylor Van Deist

The DNA that was found at the crime scene of Taylor Van Deist murder in Armstrong BC was a match for a Sexual assault that took place in 2005 in Kelowna BC, six years earlier. But the DNA of the murderer was not in the Criminal DNA Data Bank so police could only say it was the same person in both crimes but were unable to identify the person.

So how did they finally get a match without the identity of the criminal in the Criminal DNA Data Bank? It has been suggested that it was a case of partial DNA data match, which means that the criminal is related to a criminal in the DNA in Criminal Data Bank. This is called familial DNA searching, which is not legally allowed in Canada at the present moment. Now why would something like this that is so helpful to find the criminals not be allowed in Canada? Because of the privacy laws is what it boils down to!

Why is Canada not using the DNA to its full potential. Currently there is no DNA Data Bank for the many missing people of Canada. Obviously each person that is missing could have DNA on file, even if it is familial DNA .

My heart breaks for Taylor’s family and friends and cannot even begin to imagine the horror that they are living with every day, but I’m sure it is a comfort to know that the murderer has been caught.

http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111124/bc_familiar_dna_taylor_van_diest_111124?hub=BritishColumbiaHome

http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41301.html

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• 

The Old Remains Found In Winnipeg Manitoba Shows how Important a National Missing Persons DNA Data Bank is Needed

On Saturday March 31, 2012 a man riding an ATV in the area near the Red River, Manitoba discovered a partial skeleton and phoned the RCMP. The remains are suspected to be human but more testing will needed to done. The RCMP searched the area for more evidence and then concluded their investigation but were called back after a member of the press found another bone that appears to be human. The RCMP advise they don’t even know if these two bones are related….and said they will review their files of missing persons.  According to Sgt. Line Karpish “We’re not discounting any possibility, we’re not looking at something that’s a recent death.”

It’s a very good possibility that these bones are a resident of Winnipeg but in reality they could be remains of a  missing person from anywhere in Canada. It will take months if not longer for the remains to be identified, unless the person is a criminal and has his or her DNA in the DNA Data Bank of Criminals. How ironic is that?

There are so many families throughout Canada that are constantly wondering when or if they will ever find their loved one and sadly there are over 600 unidentified remains in many Coroner’s offices across our Country.  It will be interesting to see how long the remains that were found near the Red River will take to be identified…

Canada desperately needs a  DNA Data Bank of ALL  the Missing People in Canada!

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Remains-found-near-bridge-north-of-Selkirk-145484855.html

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• Support for a Missing Persons DNA Data Bank For Canada is growing – Let’s flood the House of Commons with Signatures (wenswritings.wordpress.com)
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Support for a Missing Persons DNA Data Bank For Canada is growing – Let’s flood the House of Commons with Signatures

Judy Peterson started the Petition for a National DNA Data Bank for Missing Canadians after her daughter Lindsey went missing in 1993 and over the years almost Twenty Five Hundred have signed the petition over the internet. Recently the family of Dylan Kosham, who went missing in 2008 from Edmonton Alberta have been working very hard to get signatures.

Unfortunately, only hard copies can be presented in the House of Commons and Judy Peterson has sent this memo out:

Thank you so much for taking the time to sign the on-line petition to support the creation of a National Missing Person DNA Database.

Support is growing and now is the time to really flood them with signatures.  Unfortunately, only hard copy signatures can be presented in the House of Commons.   The family of Dylan Koshman has worked very hard to gather thousands of signatures, but we need help to really make this happen.

Please go to our website – www.lindseyslaw.com.  There is a link to a House of Commons petition on the home page.  If each of you could print just one copy, gather 25 signatures and mail it to MP Ray Boughen at the address below (postage free), we could have nearly 60,000 signatures by the end of this month.

Ray Boughen, MP, House of Commons, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A4

I cannot believe that this has happened to Lindsey – she was only 14 years old.  If this can happen to our family, it could happen to someone you know.  Remember that if Lindsey was murdered, he is still out there.  This legislation is not just about identifying human remains to help desperate searching families – the identification of the remains is the pivotal piece of information the police require to even begin their investigation.  That investigation could lead to putting a murderer behind bars and keeping all Canadians safe.

Please take a few minutes to print this petition – take it to work or to a social gathering and I believe they will be as shocked as you were to understand this does not exist in Canada.  Gathering signatures should be very easy.

Thanks, Judy Peterson… Lindsey’s mom

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• 

Why is a RCMP Missing Persons Data Base Delayed Until 2013?

I don’t understand why a RCMP Data Base of all the Missing People of Canada  has to be delayed until 2013. There is no reason that this cannot be worked on now. There are lots of people who would volunteer their time for this…I am one of them. I would hope that the RCMP Missing Persons Data Base would be available for the public to see as well. This could be a limited view with the RCMP having full access to all the information and the public having the details of the disappearance.   The Data Base could be divided up into Provinces and Cities and all linked together under Canada. This would show any similarities and patterns of missing people. Any one who has a missing loved one knows how desperately this is needed. Currently there are over 2300 people missing just from BC and yet you would be hard pressed to find information about even half that amount. Each and every missing person deserves to be listed as missing. All it takes is one person to see the missing person story and have the piece of evidence to solve the disappearance.

Currently each city has a list of missing persons listed with either the RCMP or their City Police department.  Some of the RCMP Websites don’t even have a list of Missing People from their area but they are listed on the Main RCMP site. The City Police departments have their own listings of Missing People from their area. For instance someone missing from New Westminster BC is listed on the New Westminster Police Web Site but not listed on the RCMP Missing persons Website, which is the one that most people would look at.

It seems like there are more and more people going missing each year so a Central Data Base for the Missing of Canada is very much-needed. 2013 is too long to wait, we need this to be complete this year…and Canada desperately needs a Missing Persons DNA Data Base. This should be done at the same time as a Missing Persons Data Base….

May 18-12 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2012/05/17/ottawa-missing-persons-rcmp-unit.html?cmp=rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/946924–rcmp-database-for-missing-persons-delayed-until-2013

Canadian DNA Data Bank of Missing People is Badly Needed says Officer in Charge of the Missing Women Task Force

Retired RCMP Insp. Don Adam, who worked for the RCMP for over 34 years blames the lack of a Canadian DNA Data for the Missing with the slow progress of the solving the disappearances and murders of so many women from Vancouver BC.

Don Adam looked directly at Wally Opal and said “I cannot overstate to you how damaging it is that our country has not chosen to  have a DNA databank for the missing.” This is so true for all the Missing People of Canada! Currently any DNA that is on file is not shared between provinces and quite often not even with police agencies in the same province. The DNA that was collected by the Vancouver Police did not mesh with the RCMP system. That is ridiculous in this  day and age of our technology.

On February 1, 2012, MP Ray Boughen presented a petition to the Government of Canada for a National DNA Data Bank for the Missing People of Canada.  Although the MP has presented the petition , it is not the first time a petition for a National DNA Data has been presented to the Canadian Government so lets continue to add names to the Petition that is linked to this blog.

I think of the family and friends of the many women that were murdered and can’t even begin to imagine their pain and frustration. There is still a lot of DNA from that horrible farm that has not been identified and it could easily be someone who is missing from another province.

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MP Ray Boughen presents petition to House of Commons “National DNA Data Bank is Needed for Missing People of Canada”

A lot of people are shocked to find out there is not a DNA Data Bank for the Missing People of Canada. There are numerous unidentified remains in the coroners offices across Canada and even more families with Missing Loved Ones looking for some sort of closure. Melanie Alix, whose  son Dylan Koshman, 21, has been missing since October 2008 from Edmonton Alberta presented a petition to her local MP for DNA Data Bank for the Missing People of Canada . Actually when you look at the details of Melanies son Dylan’s disappearance there are a lot of similarities to the Missing Men in BC.

This is not the first time the issue of a National DNA Databank for Missing of Canada has been brought to the House of Commons. Private member bills were presented in 2003 and 2006 by Judy Peterson whose daughter, Lindsey Nicolls , 14, has been missing since 1993. Both Bills were rejected. I do have the petition the Judy created as a link on my blog. If you have not signed it yet, please take the time to read it and sign if you agree.

On February 1, 2012 Conservative MP Ray Coughten presented a petition to the House of Commons that asked Parliament to support creating a National DNA Databank and linking them with the National DNA Data Bank used to catch criminals. By the way there is over 50,0000 DNA samples in the Criminal Data Bank of Canada of unsolved crimes! Anyone of those DNA samples could solve the mystery of someones missing love one. The MP  stated, “I think it’s a issue that will bring closure to some questions that people have. Right now there are very limited identification opportunities.” He is so right about the limitations! Very frustrating for the family and friends of a missing loved one.

So now the Petition will be examined for about 45 “business” days and then the Government will give its response. The best we can hope for at this time is that the issue will be looked at for further study, but at least its a start.  Trust me I will be watching for this response closely!

The United States has a National DNA Databank and has matched 500 missing people and unidentified remains. 83 cases of Missing People were solved in 2010 using their National DNA Databank. It’s about time Canada had a Missing Person DNA Data Bank!

Related articles

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DNA Data Bank Private Members Bill has been presented to Parliament several times over the years

Currently there is a petition to create a Data Bank for the Missing People of Canada. I have a link on my blog and many people have signed this petition. I was surprised to find out that the idea of Missing Persons Data Bank was first presented in 2003 by former MP  Gary Lunn . He introduced a private member’s bill to amend the DNA  Identification Act  that would address the issue of missing people in  Canada. Then in 2006 it was  put forward by Ontario MP Mike Wallace who  recommended changes in the House of Commons to the same  bill. Again in 2009, a senate committee recommended changes to the DNA Identification Act that would allow for the inclusions of missing people to make it easier to identify but there is still no DNA Data Bank for Missing People of Canada!

My husband and I gave our DNA sample to the RCMP over four years ago and since then there have been several bodies found in the Okanagan area and our son was ruled out by the DNA. But what about the rest of Canada? A missing person could end up anywhere in Canada or the United States. The United States by the way does have a National DNA Bank for missing people. It is called NamUS

There currently is a Data Base for the criminals of Canada and in that Data Base there are over 50,000 DNA samples. If anyone of our politicians had a missing loved one I’m sure they would push harder for a DNA Data Base for missing people.

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http://www.canada.com/news/Call+renewed+data+bank+missing+people/6051572/story.html#ixzz1kWslXI8P