Alberta RCMP continue to investigate the death of Annette Margaret Holywhiteman, whose remains were discovered in a rural area northwest of Westlock in fall 2010 and identified last month.
The Westlock News received reports of police activity in the Pibroch area last week, and RCMP media relations officer Shawn LeMay confirmed investigators were in the area following up on information they received.
“We’re doing our due diligence and being extremely thorough with the investigation, as might be expected,” he said. “We have a number of investigators that are out in the area conducting a search to make sure nothing is left uncovered.”
However, he said he could not confirm reports that an emergency response team (commonly referred to as SWAT) were involved in the investigation, or that an RCMP helicopter was on site.
“Whether the helicopter was deployed on a totally separate matter, or as part of a training exercise, I don’t have that information,” he said. “It is my understanding there was no helicopter involved in the investigational police activities taking place in the area.”
He later said a helicopter was in the area last week, but could not confirm any timeline.
“We might have been doing some air searching for a missing person, which we found a short time later,” he said.
LeMay added that when investigators are in the area, some residents could be delayed or have their mobility somewhat limited.
“There should be some areas that we cordoned off, and maybe some parts of the road that were not cordoned off but controlled for a period of time to aid in that search,” he said. “It’s my understanding from my colleagues that no one should be inconvenienced unless they’re in very close proximity to those areas that are being looked at.”
Partial remains were first discovered in a wooded area about 10 kilometres northwest of Westlock when hunters stumbled upon them. They remained unidentified until last month, when dental records showed them to belong to Holywhiteman, who was first reported missing from the Edmonton area in 2008.
