In November 1997, Saskatchewan RCMP received a report of human remains that were found in the area surrounding the North Saskatchewan river outside Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. DNA testing at the time was unable to identify the body. The DNA was retained by the National DNA Data Bank of Canada (NDDB).
The file remained with the Saskatchewan RCMP Historical Case Unit. Investigators revisited the file using new technologies in 2005 and then again in 2024. “Our team worked with the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains and the National Missing Persons DNA Program, and the file was ultimately linked to a missing person investigation out of Edmonton,” says Cst. Brendan Sanford, Saskatchewan RCMP’s Missing Person Coordinator.
In 2024, as EPS Historical Crimes Section detectives continued their ongoing review of unsolved historical missing persons files, they obtained voluntary DNA samples from living relatives of Jose Valdez, a man who went missing in Edmonton in late 1990.
In February 2025, DNA obtained from Valdez’s family members matched to the DNA from the remains that were found in Saskatchewan in 1997, conclusively identifying the remains as those of Jose Valdez.
Jose Valdez, 36 at the time of his disappearance, was last seen in Edmonton in November 1990. His disappearance was believed to be non-criminal. The Saskatchewan Coroner examined the remains when they were located and determined the death was not suspicious in nature.
“We sympathize with Jose’s family for the decades of ambiguous loss they have suffered, and while this is difficult news, we hope it also brings some measure of resolution,” says Detective Glen Haneman, with the EPS Historical Crimes Section. “This is why we never stop investigating unsolved missing persons and unidentified human remains cases.”
“Technology is transforming the way investigations are being approached and solved,” adds Cst. Sanford. “It helps to uncover leads in ways that were not possible when the case first opened. Being able to bring closure to Jose’s loved ones is extremely rewarding and gives us hope that we can provide answers to other waiting families.”
The EPS Missing Persons Unit currently has 95 unsolved missing persons files dating back as far as the 1970s. The EPS Historical Crimes Section will continue to explore ever-improving DNA, genetic genealogy and other forensic technology as they review these unsolved files.