Calgary police have found the bodies of 25-year-old Jasmine Lovett and her 22-month-old daughter Aliyah Sanderson.
The bodies were found about 50 kilometres west of the city in a wooded area in Kananaskis Country near Grizzly Creek, according to police.
More than 50 police officers and officials were involved in an extensive search of an area that spanned Bragg Creek and Priddis in the days that followed the disappearance of the mother and daughter.
“A suspect has been taken into custody earlier today, charges are pending,” police said. The suspect was the same man taken into custody two weeks ago in relation to the investigation.
“Formal identification of the deceased will be done by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner,” police said in a news release.
“The cause of death of both victims is not expected to be released.”
Lovett and Sanderson were reported missing on April 23 after they didn’t show up for a family dinner. They were last seen a week prior, on April 16, according to police. Their disappearance was declared a suspected double-homicide on April 25.
A suspect was taken into custody on April 25 and questioned, however, he was released the next day. Police said at the time he was still the “primary suspect” in the investigation.
Robert Leeming said the young mother and daughter lived with him in his Cranston home. He told Global News he was arrested and questioned by police in relation to the homicide, before being released a day later.
That home was the site of extensive forensic analysis for several days after police launched the homicide investigation.
Police were led to the Bragg Creek area after cellphone pings were identified in the area. On April 29, Investigators said the destruction of evidence “by means of burning” is thought to have happened in the area of Bragg Creek, Elbow Falls, Priddis and/or East Kananaskis sometime between Tuesday, April 16 and Saturday, April 20.
The search of the area was suspended for a week due to poor weather conditions and significant snowfall.
Bodies of Jasmine Lovett, Aliyah Sanderson believed to be found, Calgary police make arrest
