RCMP F Division Major Crime, Historical Case Unit has initiated an innovative research project involving a pig carcass and the North Saskatchewan River.
HCU is responsible for investigating unsolved murders and missing persons in the province. In a pro-active approach for locating missing persons, whom are presumed drowned in the Saskatchewan River Systems, the Saskatoon HCU launched a research project in the fall of 2013.
The project involved placing a pig carcass, equipped with a tracking device, in the North Saskatchewan River at North Battleford, and monitoring its movements and final resting location. According to HCU, the main purpose was to determine how far, and how quick, a body could travel down along the river before reaching its final resting point.
Police say a week after the carcass was placed in the river it was located on a sand bar, exposed by low water levels, about 20 kilometres from where it was put in. This data -distance travelled, flow rate, temperature - was collected and will be used in future missing person cases, where a person is believed to have drowned in the North Saskatchewan River.
"As there are many variables to consider in predicting where a body may end up in the river, it was our intention to conduct this project a number of times with various water levels, flows and weather conditions, in both the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers," explains HCU's Cpl. Tyler Hadland.
"The Saskatoon Historical Case Unit has partnered with the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency and are planning to deploy phase II of this project by placing another pig carcass in the river, this time in the South Saskatchewan River in the city of Saskatoon."
Wednesday, a pig carcass equipped with a tracking device will be placed in the South Saskatchewan River and its movements monitored. It is anticipated this research will assist in locating future drowned victims, and bring closure to the families of these missing persons, the RCMP say.
