A year ago yesterday, Colin Sawrenko was assaulted and killed along the bank of the Yukon River.
A week later, Angel Carlick went missing.
On November 9, 2007, Carlick’s remains were discovered in a forested area north of the Pilot Mountain subdivision.
Both investigations remain open and ongoing, the RCMP announced on Thursday.
Sawrenko’s murder was the first homicide the territory had seen in three years.
On May 22, 2007, at 4:30 in the afternoon police responded to a report of an assault on the riverbank near Shipyards Park.
They found Sawrenko lying unresponsive with very serious injuries.
The 52-year-old man was rushed to Whitehorse General Hospital but died later that evening.
Police believe the murder’s an isolated incident.
“We had received a couple of calls regarding assaults on the riverbank,” said RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Roger Lockwood.
“But in terms of those investigations there were no links made to this investigation.”
Similarly, the RCMP sees no link between Sawrenko’s death and Carlick’s disappearance.
“We deal with the facts of the investigation, the evidence that we gather and its circumstances dictate the direction of the investigation,” said Lockwood.
“But there is information made available to us by the public and we follow up on every lead and every tip in terms of determining whether it’s a valid tip or not.”
The proximity of the two incidents led to speculation and rumours that the two incidents were connected.
“In this case we’ve followed up on a number of rumours, which turned out to be unsubstantiated or inconclusive,” said Lockwood.
Carlick was last seen sometime between May 26 and 31, 2007.
RCMP conducted more than 100 interviews with family, friends, coworkers and others to determine her whereabouts.
Police and volunteers also conducted extensive ground, air and water searches throughout various areas of Whitehorse.
In the end, it was a citizen walking through an area north of the Pilot Mountain subdivision who discovered Carlick’s remains.
The subsequent autopsy was inconclusive and it is still unclear how Carlick died.
“In terms of any sudden death investigation, we have to treat them as suspicious until we can determine otherwise,” said Lockwood.
Police are asking for the public’s patience, support and understanding of the work that is takes to conduct a major investigation such as this.
Anyone with information on either of these incidents is urged to contact the Yukon RCMP or Crime Stoppers.