Human remains found near Indus have been identified

Times Reporter 

 

A homeowner cleaning up his property near Indus this past May came across human remains. On July 23, police announced the remains had been positively identified as Maria Rosa Ciciolla. 

“It happens more often than people would think just based on construction, new development, changes in rivers and people just cleaning their properties and that’s how this one was found,” said Const. Norm Mercier with the RCMP. 

“When we find skeletal remains a lot of times we’ll go back to previous records that exist for known missing persons. These records can consist of dental records, and through the dental records there are certain areas X-rayed that are very distinct. They were able to, based on the dental records alone, verify who that was prior to even having to go through DNA.” 

Ciciolla was last seen in July 2006. She was a known face in an area where police would patrol, and was known to engage in a high-risk lifestyle, which made her vulnerable to being exploited by others. Mercier said police do street checks a lot of times on individuals and in July of 2006 they stopped seeing her. She was officially reported missing in November of 2006. 

At the time of her disappearance Ciciolla was last seen at the corner of 19 Ave and 44 St. SE in Calgary. She was 35-years-old, 5 feet tall, and weighed 95 pounds. 

The missing person investigation was originally handled by Calgary Police Service. Mercier said for each missing persons case the investigation follows the same basic guidelines. A complaint is made; the police then gather information from the complainant, and from there establish the point the person went missing. The police also look into who the missing person is, what they do, who they were with, what they were wearing and what activities they were involved in.  

From that, because of the area she was in, Mercier said the police did sort of a neighbourhood canvas to try to pinpoint the last time she was seen, which is how they came to determine she disappeared in late July of 2006. 

Mercier refused to comment on if there were any suspects in the case, or if Ciciolla’s death is considered suspicious.

“No comment, in order to protect the integrity of the investigation certain information will not be released,” said Mercier.

“The biggest thing is we’re not saying it’s a homicide at this time. The cause of death hasn’t come back to us through the Medical Examine’s Office.”

Anyone with information that could assist police in determining Ms. Ciciolla’s whereabouts or activities leading up to the time of her disappearance or who has information regarding the circumstances of her death is asked to call police immediately.  

Anyone wishing to remain anonymous should contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS (8477).