No link between missing Brampton girl, human remains, police say
Peel police are no closer to identifying the victim whose remains were found in a Mississauga park this week, Const. George Tudos said Friday.
Police resumed the large-scale search of Hewick Meadows Park, located near Eglinton Ave. and Mississauga Rd., following the discovery this week of a woman’s severed right foot and head.
At a media briefing this morning, Tudos dispelled speculation that the remains belong to missing Brampton teen Mila Johnson.
“That is completely separate from our investigation here,” Tudos said.
There is also no connection to the Luka Rocco Magnotta investigation, he said.
Police are waiting for the results of a post-mortem exam scheduled for later today.
Hikers found the right foot, severed at the ankle, floating near the bank of the Credit River south of Eglinton Ave. W. on Wednesday. Police suspected the foot was a woman’s because the toenails were brightly coloured with yellow nail polish.
The head was found on the bank of the river by police searchers around noon Thursday, about a kilometre north of where the foot was recovered.
Forensic tests will reveal whether the body parts are a match.
Judging from its condition, it’s likely the foot was detached “fairly recently,” Det. Randy Cowan said Thursday.
The size of the remains suggests the victim was an adult, Cowan added.
Police can’t say yet if the body parts were placed at the banks or transported by water from some other point on the river, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to Lake Ontario.
Ontario Provincial Police helicopters were dispatched to assist in the recovery, in addition to Peel’s marine unit. Cadaver dogs were on hand to search the river and surrounding parkland.
Police are seeking anyone who witnessed something suspicious within the past couple of weeks and urged people to call police if they find something out of place while walking in the area.
Officers are also sifting through missing person’s reports, to see if there’s a link, Cowan said.
— Torstar News Service
