OPP hopes photos on website will help identify corpses
Photos of unidentified bodies and missing persons will be posted on an Ontario Provincial Police website created in hopes of solving cold cases.
"We thought rather than just leave [the cases] in file cabinet drawers, that we would seek the help of the public," Det.-Staff Sgt. Kim Peters said.
Dr. Barry McLellan, Ontario's chief coroner, says the site will be one of the first of its type in Canada to include pictures of the deceased that the public can view.
In the unidentified remains section of the site, visitors can scroll through photos of clothing, an artist's rendering of the person, and photos of parts of the body, such as the face or tattoos. Cases without photos have descriptions of the person.
Peters said each photo of unidentified bodies has been carefully chosen because of their identifying characteristics, but as the site warns, the photos of the bodies can be disturbing.
In the second part of the site, featuring cases where people have disappeared without a trace, old photos and descriptions are being posted.
The families of the missing people were contacted before the launch of the site to notify them that the photographs would be published in an attempt to resolve the cases.
A county in Las Vegas launched a similar website in 2003. Shortly after its launch, 12 people featured on the site were identified.
"The technology is new," Peters said. "I know people think the internet is an old hat by now, but from an investigative point, it's not so old."
The OPP began planning the website with Ontario's chief coroner two years ago.
There are about 100 sets of unidentified remains that have been found in Ontario, and another 200 missing-persons cases in the OPP's jurisdiction.
Some date back as far as 1975, but the coroner's office says even older cases will be included as the project grows.
The OPP plans to expand the website to include links to local police forces, missing children's organizations and agencies serving victims.
Ontario's chief coroner is counting on people around the world viewing the site. McLellan strongly believes many of the cases originated outside of Ontario, and hopes the wide exposure will bring closure to some of them.
He said tips have already started trickling in.