Corrie Ottenbreit's remains tied to rural property near Leduc
Police say the remains of a woman missing since 2004 have been identified among the remains of another woman discovered last spring on a rural property near Leduc, Alta.
Remains were found on the property on April 19, with RCMP later identifying them as belonging to Delores Brower, an Edmonton sex-trade worker.
Today, RCMP announced that some of the remains found that day actually belonged to a second woman — Corrie Renee Ottenbreit — who was also an Edmonton sex-trade worker.
Ottenbreit's identity was confirmed through DNA analysis of a hair sample she had voluntarily provided the Project KARE's proactive street team in 2003.
Ottenbreit's death is considered a homicide and investigators are looking for the public's help to find out what led to her disappearance, said Insp. Stacey Talbot.
Talbot also said the remains of the two women were found within eight kilometres of the remains of two other women, suggesting police may be dealing with a serial predator.
Kate Quinn from the Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation [CEASE] said it makes sense the missing women are linked to a predator because they appeared to be easy targets who wouldn't be missed.
"And yet we know that behind every woman who's gone missing or found murdered there is a family in a community who cared for her and deeply misses her," she said.
Ottenbreit was last seen by a family member at 10 p.m. on Sunday, May 9, 2004, when she left her home to work in the sex trade along 118th Avenue.
The remains of the following women have been found within an 8-km radius in Leduc County:
- Edna Bernard — last seen Sept. 22, 2002. Remains found the next day.
- Katie Sylvia Ballantyne — last seen April 28, 2003. Remains found July 7, 2003.
- Delores Brower — last seen May 15, 2004. Remains found April 19, 2015.
- Corrie Ottenbreit — last seen May 9, 2004. Remains found April 19, 2015.
- Amber Tuccaro — last seen Aug. 18, 2010. Remains found Sept. 1, 2012.
