Finding a body in one of Saskatchewan’s lakes or rivers can pose many challenges for police and it is hoped a new tracking device will lessen some of the obstacles.
The tracking device, which uses a combination of a global positioning system and radio transmitter, was attached to a pig carcass and then placed in the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon Wednesday morning as part of testing the RCMP is currently conducting.
Cpl. Tyler Hadland, with the RCMP’s Historical Case Unit, says police hope the device will shed light on some search techniques that may help locate bodies that have still not been recovered in the province’s waterways.
“We’ve been searching rivers for a number of years, annually, by plane and by boat,” he says. “We know that there at least 11 bodies that we believe are in the north and south Saskatchewan rivers and we haven’t been able to recover these bodies yet.”
Hadland adds there can be a number of challenges for police in trying to locate a body in a waterway such as shifting currents and various underwater obstacles that can stop its flow.
He says the main goal of testing the tracking device is to help bring closure to families who have lost a loved one.
“There’s always that lingering idea that maybe something else happened to them and to be able to know for sure what exactly happened to their love one and be able to bury their loved one and have closure is very important.”
The RCMP conducted similar testing on the North Saskatchewan River this past fall.
Police are working with the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency as part of the testing.