A woman’s severed head has been found in a Mississauga park near where a severed foot was discovered, Peel police said this afternoon.
The remains “are not small,” indicating that they likely came from the body of an adult, Peel Regional Police Det. Randy Cowan told reporters during a noon-hour briefing at the scene.
DNA tests are underway to match the body parts, although, Cowan said, “Common sense tells us this is most likely related.”
“Without a cause of death we can't call it homicide, but certainly foul play — there's definitely something amiss,” Cowan said.
The head was found near the Credit River, which runs through Hewick Meadows Park, near Eglinton Ave. and Mississauga Rd.
The latest finding was made at noon Thursday, about a kilometre upstream from the site of a severed foot found by hikers the day before.
The foot likely belongs to a female because the toes were brightly coloured with yellow nail polish, Cowan said earlier Thursday.
“It’s a grim discovery any time we get these calls. It’s certainly disturbing,” said Cowan.
The right foot, severed at the ankle, was floating near the riverbank, when the passersby spotted it.
Judging from its condition, Cowan said, the foot was likely detached “fairly recently.”
“There may be a reasonable explanation of some sort,” Cowan said.
Police can't yet say if the body parts were placed there or were transported there by the water from some other point in the river, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to Lake Ontario.
The remains were sent to forensic anthropologists to determine the age and sex of the body.
A large-scale search of the park — a popular destination for hiking, fishing and dog walking — is underway and expected to last for some time.
“We’ll be looking for the entire victim,” Cowan said.
Ontario Provincial Police helicopters were dispatched in addition to the marine unit and cadaver dogs on hand to search the river and surrounding parkland.
“We're looking for anybody that has seen anything suspicious within the last couple of weeks,” Cowan said.
“We're also looking for people to be vigilant in the area if they're out walking and they happen to find something that causes them concern to give us a call.”
Officers are sifting through missing person's reports, in case any have a link to the body parts, Cowan said.
“Typically in the region there are always a number of outstanding missing people,” he said. “The majority of those return safely...We are going through those reports right now, reaching out to family members.”
Woman
The remains “are not small,” indicating that they likely came from the body of an adult, Peel Regional Police Det. Randy Cowan told reporters during a noon-hour briefing at the scene.
DNA tests are underway to match the body parts, although, Cowan said, “Common sense tells us this is most likely related.”
“Without a cause of death we can't call it homicide, but certainly foul play — there's definitely something amiss,” Cowan said.
The head was found near the Credit River, which runs through Hewick Meadows Park, near Eglinton Ave. and Mississauga Rd.
The latest finding was made at noon Thursday, about a kilometre upstream from the site of a severed foot found by hikers the day before.
The foot likely belongs to a female because the toes were brightly coloured with yellow nail polish, Cowan said earlier Thursday.
“It’s a grim discovery any time we get these calls. It’s certainly disturbing,” said Cowan.
The right foot, severed at the ankle, was floating near the riverbank, when the passersby spotted it.
Judging from its condition, Cowan said, the foot was likely detached “fairly recently.”
“There may be a reasonable explanation of some sort,” Cowan said.
Police can't yet say if the body parts were placed there or were transported there by the water from some other point in the river, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to Lake Ontario.
The remains were sent to forensic anthropologists to determine the age and sex of the body.
A large-scale search of the park — a popular destination for hiking, fishing and dog walking — is underway and expected to last for some time.
“We’ll be looking for the entire victim,” Cowan said.
Ontario Provincial Police helicopters were dispatched in addition to the marine unit and cadaver dogs on hand to search the river and surrounding parkland.
“We're looking for anybody that has seen anything suspicious within the last couple of weeks,” Cowan said.
“We're also looking for people to be vigilant in the area if they're out walking and they happen to find something that causes them concern to give us a call.”
Officers are sifting through missing person's reports, in case any have a link to the body parts, Cowan said.
“Typically in the region there are always a number of outstanding missing people,” he said. “The majority of those return safely...We are going through those reports right now, reaching out to family members.”
Woman
