GREEN BUSH—The Green Bush Road in the Northeast Town was an unaccustomed hive of activity this past week as vehicles from OPP forensic units, an OPP canine unit, Office of the Fire Marshal Emergency Preparedness and Response Units and the NEMI Fire Department were lined up along a laneway off of Green Bush Road and Columbus Mountain Road during an investigation that was cited as “a possible structure fire.”
The news quickly turned ominous, however, as by Thursday the OPP released a statement indicating that “suspected human remains” were found at the site of the fire.
The location of the structure fire was approximately five kilometres beyond the part of the road known as The Steps. Due to the heavy snowfalls that had taken place, getting to the site proved difficult.
“On February 4, at approximately 8:30 pm, members from the Manitoulin Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were requested to check on the well-being of a male at a residence in the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands,” notes an OPP release. “Officers were unable to reach the location due to inclement weather and remote location.”
On February 5 the Manitoulin OPP, with the assistance of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) and the OPP North East Region Emergency Response Team (ERT), located a burned structure hidden under the deep snow. By February 6, with the assistance of the North East Region Canine Unit (K9), suspected human remains were located inside the structure.
The investigation is continuing by members of the Manitoulin OPP Detachment, Manitoulin OPP Crime Unit and OPP Forensic Identification Services (FIS) working in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal.
The intensity of the structure fire and the condition of the remains have made positive identification challenging and the identity of the individual the OPP had been requested to check in on has also not been released.
