Provincial police are investigating after human remains were found in a wooded area of northern Ontario and say they cannot confirm if there is any connection to an ongoing missing person case in the area.
Ontario Provincial Police officers from the Kirkland Lake detachment discovered the remains while investigating another case, Const. Adam Gauthier told CTV News in a phone interview Friday morning.
The remains were found Tuesday evening in Holmes Township, west of Kirkland Lake on Highway 66, Gauthier said.
“The identity of the deceased has not yet been determined,” police said.
An autopsy will be conducted to confirm the identity of the person along with the cause of death.
“The Kirkland Lake OPP Crime Unit is continuing this investigation under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch, in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service,” police said.
OPP has been searching the Kirkland Lake area for 29-year-old Ashley Lafrance, who was last seen on Station Road South on Sept. 7.
Despite being missing, three people from the town have been charged with first-degree murder in connection to her disappearance.
