Human remains found near Gleichen

Miriam Ostermann
Times Associate Editor

 

Investigators continue to search for answers regarding the identification of a weathered skull that was found by a Gleichen resident in part of the flood plain of the Bow River on March 16.
Calgary RCMP Major Crimes Unit (MCU) and the RCMP Forensic Identification Section (FIS) examined the scene, which is located south of the Hamlet of Gleichen, the following day.
“It’s being treated like any other found-human-remains investigation, which is the scene where the skull was located has been processed by our forensic identification unit and the investigators assigned to the file,” said Hal Turnbull, with the RCMP Strategic Communications Unit. “The investigator assures me there doesn’t seem to be any evidence, on the skull itself, of foul play, or that it was a recent death. By that I mean within the last month or two. The skull is quite aged.”
According to Turnbull, the skull is currently at the medical examiner’s office where efforts are being made to determine gender, race, and dental records. While consideration is given to missing individuals – two cases which are possible matches in the area – officials said there is a high probability the skull was washed up from a burial ground during the 2013 floods.
“It’s known as an area that some time ago, maybe 100 to 200 years ago, there was a period of time it was believed that one of the indigenous nations, possibly the Blackfoot, may have used that as a burial area,” Turnbull said. “It’s possible that the flood waters maybe eroded some land that contained remains and they got washed down.”
Only the skull of the individual has been recovered thus far, and RCMP continue to wait to hear from the medical examiner and specialists regarding the identity of the human remains.