CHESTER, N.S. — The death of a 12-year-old Nova Scotia girl whose remains were found in the woods outside Bridgewater two weeks after she disappeared is being treated as a homicide, police said Thursday.
Investigators with the RCMP and Bridgewater police said they had no suspects but they stressed the death of Karissa Boudreau was an isolated incident.
The Grade 6 student vanished from a parking lot in the community on Nova Scotia's south shore on Jan. 27.
A passerby found human remains on Saturday buried in the snow in nearby Conqueral Bank, but a medical examiner could not confirm the identity until an autopsy was completed Wednesday.
Her parents were given the grim news Thursday morning.
The autopsy revealed how the girl died, but that information is not being released because it could undermine the police investigation, Sergeant John Collyer of Bridgewater police told a news conference in nearby Chester.
"I can't get into too much in the way of specifics," he said. "That's the investigators thoughts on it at this point. I can't really speculate any further."
The investigators also declined to say if the girl died the night she went missing or if she died in the place where her body was found — about 10 metres from the LaHave River, just outside Bridgewater's town limits.
Sgt. Collyer confirmed the body was found "within walking distance" of the girl's home and there had not been a ground search in that area.
He said he knows there's concern about safety in the community, which hasn't had to deal with a murder in 15 years.
"I just want them to know that the full resources of the Bridgewater police service and the RCMP are involved in this investigation and we're putting all of our efforts into trying to bring this to a successful resolution," he said.
"Obviously, we will do our utmost to ensure the safety of the community."
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There's more in the article, I just didn't want to post it ALL.
RIP Karissa, I hope nothing too horrible happened to you before you died.