More than 400 DNA samples collected in Highway of Tears probe

400 samples in Highway of Tears case

More than 400 DNA samples have recently been collected as part of the investigation into the notorious Highway of Tears as a police task force uses new technology to identify suspects in the high-profile case, in which most of the files are decades old.

Although no arrests have yet been made in connection with the 18 girls and women who have gone missing or been murdered along the 720-kilometre stretch of highway from northern British Columbia to Alberta, the 75-member task force continues to search for answers, RCMP Staff Sgt. Bruce Hulan said.

In the past 18 months, investigators have collected the voluntary DNA samples to compare with evidence left at the crime scenes and have made more than 16,000 inquiries as they pursue leads.

And in the past year the task force has received 939 tips, said Hulan, who leads the group, dubbed the E-Pana task force.

It has identified 160 new “persons of interest” in 2010, bringing the total to more than 2,100 possible suspects or witnesses identified in the cases.

Both the Highway of Tears and B.C.’s other infamous missing women case — the disappearance of 64 women from Vancouver’s downtown eastside — have been making headlines, with the launch of a B.C. missing-women inquiry and with the federal government dedicating $10 million to the issue of missing and murdered aboriginal women.

“The investigators on project E-Pana have made significant progress in the past year,” Hulan said in an e-mail.

“In many of our cases, we are looking for that piece of evidence to further the investigation or provide us with clarity as to what led to the individual’s death.”

Hulan is cautious about using the term “serial killer,” saying that can only be determined after any arrests are made.

Missing women advocates argue that the number of victims on the Highway of Tears list should be much higher, but Hulan has argued that his task force is somewhat hampered by budget constraints.