On behalf of all police agencies within the Province of Alberta and the Chief Medical Examiner's office, welcome to the Alberta Missing Persons and Unidentified Human Remains Website.
As you are aware, there is a growing interest across Canada regarding the response to missing person cases. I am proud to say that Alberta is considered a leader within this area. As far back as 2003, an integrated and collaborative approach was taken with other Albertan and Western Canadian police agencies in the development of the High Risk Missing Persons Project (H.R.M.P.P.) which resulted in Project KARE. The launch of this website is another example of Alberta police and other government agencies' commitment in providing a collaborative, consistent and leading edge approach in dealing with all missing person cases while serving the citizens of Alberta.
As one reflects on the current status of not only Alberta missing person cases, but also those elsewhere in Canada, it becomes apparent that a "National Missing Persons Program" would be beneficial. This is necessary due to several factors including the nature and extent of missing person files, stakeholders' concerns, and current police practices.
With the hopes of creating a provincial, regional, and possibly a national database, the "K" Division (Alberta) R.C.M.P. have entered into a pilot project with "E" Division (British Columbia) R.C.M.P., the "E" Division Major Crimes Unit and BC Police Missing Persons Centre. An early success of this pilot project has emphasized the benefits of expansion into other jurisdictions. Currently, all police agencies in Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut are providing the information necessary for this missing persons initiative. Discussions with police, partners, and stakeholders in Saskatchewan and Manitoba were positive and it is anticipated in the near future there will be a "regional program/database" and website that will allow the public access to materials and information relating to Western Canadian missing person files. It is hoped that this will evolve into the implementation of a website covering all missing person cases in Canada. In this site you are able to not only look for missing persons files within Alberta using the "Search" function but also find related information by using the "Links" provided. for other related websites.
At the same time, there is also a need to develop and implement agreed upon protocols across police jurisdictions and agencies not only within our province, but also at the regional and national levels. This would ensure uniformity in the investigations of missing person cases. It has become increasingly evident that police and many other agencies must further develop partnerships, either formally or informally, to aid in these complex investigations. This integration, collaboration and cooperation will provide all citizens with a consistent, professional, and leading edge police response when dealing with missing person files. This provincial website, and the expansion of this initiative to the regional and hopefully national levels, will enhance the service to all and increase the likelihood of more successes in the future.
As this site will be updated on a regular basis your interest, comments, and support are appreciated. Please return to this site in the near future for newly posted information.
Sincerely,
Michael J. SEKELA, Deputy Chief Operating Officer
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
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