Investigators excavate area in Clarington, Ont., after tip in 55-year-old cold case
New information in a 55-year-old cold case caused Durham investigators to excavate a large portion of land near Highway 57 and Concession Road 8 in Clarington Thursday, about 80 kilometres northeast of Toronto.
On Saturday, Sept. 14, 1963, 13-year-old Noreen Greenley went missing in nearby Enniskillen Township.
The town's police department investigated her disappearance and started several search efforts at the time, but they didn't locate her.
New hope brought several of Greenley's family members to the excavation site Thursday.
"It's definitely emotional," said Jessie Jones, Greenley's niece. "Unfortunately, our mom passed away before she could get answers, so we're here today to … hopefully get answers for her and let her rest peacefully."
Joyce Greenley, Noreen's sister, arrived certain the dig would turn results after decades of wondering.
"If we find her today, I'll be really happy to put her to rest with my mom and dad," she said.
Tip spurred dig
This newest lead comes after several pieces of information surfaced, matching a story Joyce told years ago when her sister went missing.
The night she disappeared, Noreen went bowling then back to a friend's house to hang out, according to the family. Later on, Noreen went to catch a bus.
Sometime that evening, she disappeared.
Joyce remembers another detail from that night.
She was walking down her street when she saw a car drive by with Noreen inside, she said. Supposedly the driver was giving her a ride home.
"All of the sudden I heard screaming and my sister must've grabbed the wheel — it was her — to get my attention … to go get dad and she was in trouble."
Joyce said the car was a Ford Prefect.
Noreen's niece, Mandy Ramos, said they recently received another tip from a man who said his deceased father drove the same kind of car.
"His dad used to drive by here and said he buried a car here," she said.
"So from what we understand is that he buried the car and she's possibly in the car. We don't know for sure."
Noreen's family hired a team from Western University to investigate further. They found magnetic anomalies at the site the tipster pinpointed.
Det.-Sgt Mitch Martin with Durham Regional Police Service's homicide unit said the new evidence is what spurred police to excavate.
They dug two trenches Thursday, one about 150 feet long and the other about 100 feet long. Each went down seven feet deep, and they also used metal detectors to search another three feet beyond that. Unfortunately, they found no new evidence.
"We all want to find Noreen," Martin said. "That's everybody's desire."
'It just ruined my whole family'
Noreen's family is still hopeful they'll eventually find closure.
"It's not fair to a family to not know," said Alannah McMullen, Noreen's niece. "That's probably the worst feeling to have that uneasy loss and not knowing and not being able to bring your family home to bury them."
Joyce remembers her sister as a beautiful, green-eyed teen who loved to ride horses, but the aftermath of her loss still weighs heavy.
"I'm angry. She was my friend. She was my sister," she said. "You never think it's going to happen to your family, until one day it did, and it destroyed everyone."
Some loved ones dealt with mental health and addiction problems following the disappearance.
"It was terrible. It just ruined my whole family, ruined everyone," she said. "My mother, she couldn't look after us anymore, and every year that Noreen had a birthday or Christmas, she would set the table for her."
Exhausted all leads
Although the dig didn't turn up the car, Martin said these kinds of tips are what investigators are relying on to help solve cold case investigations.
"The amount of officers and the amount of time spent investigating Noreen … is incredible. These are very seasoned investigators and they were unable to turnover that one piece of evidence," he said.
Durham police will move forward with any credible information, Martin added, saying at this point, they've exhausted all leads in Noreen's case.
"It's tough when you come to these scenes and get exposed again to what the family's going through, how traumatic it is for the family. They want closure and we want closure."
"The longer it goes on, the more difficult it becomes."
