Regina police extend $50K reward offers in 2 cold cases
Police still offering rewards in family's triple homicide in 2010, Tamra Keepness' 2004 disappearance
Regina Police Service will continue to offer rewards in 2017 for two cold cases that have baffled investigators for years.
Police were already offering $50,000 for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in the triple homicide of a refugee family in the city in 2010.
The service was also offering $50,000 for information on the whereabouts of Tamra Keepness, a five-year-old girl who disappeared from her home in Regina in 2004.
On Wednesday, the Board of Police Commissioners approved continuing to offer the rewards in 2017.
Keepness investigation still open
"Our police service just feels that reward is important to keep out there, on the off chance that someone might come forward and give us some information [about Tamra Keepness] that ultimately would lead us to a resolution in this case," Regina police Chief Evan Bray said after the meeting Wednesday morning.
He said police are continuing to investigate Keepness's disappearance and officers are keeping the lines of communication open with her loved ones, adding that police were checking in with her family members as recently as this month.
The police chief said he hopes the continuation of the reward shows the family that finding answers about Keepness is a priority for his investigators.
"We hope to someday bring some resolution to them," he said.
Shortly before the 10-year anniversary of Keepness's disappearance in 2014, police doubled the previous reward to $50,000.
Triple homicide investigation continues
Bray said the triple homicide of Gray Nay Htoo, his wife Maw Maw and their child Seven June at their home in 2010 had a "significant impact on the community," similar to Tamra Keepness's case.
"That's the type of crime that we don't see in Regina and we don't want to see in Regina," he said.
The family was part of a small ethnic community of Karen people in the city, many of whom also fled to Canada as refugees.
In 2014, police offered a reward of $50,000, hoping to encourage someone to come forward with information about the killings. But so far, no one has collected that money.
Police say they hope both rewards will encourage someone to come forward with relevant information to either case.
The rewards aren't listed in the 2017 police budget, but police say they'll make every effort to make sure they're added in if someone qualifies to claim the reward for information in either case.