Niagara police call off search around area where torso found in river

ST. CATHARINES, Ont. – Police in Ontario have suspended their search around the Niagara River in an area where a woman’s torso was found in the water last week.

Niagara regional police say officers conducted a ground and water search of the area, looking for further evidence connected to the remains found Aug. 29.

No more evidence has been found and police say they have no immediate plans to extend the search.

The remains have not been identified but a post-mortem determined the torso was that of a Caucasian woman between 31 and 55 years old.

It’s believed to have been in the water for four to 10 days before it was found by a passerby.

Police say they have reviewed 50 missing persons cases and the vast majority do not match the description of the dismembered victim.

They are appealing to the public for help in identifying the woman, who had a pierced navel and two caesarean section scars.

Investigators say this case is not connected to the slaying of a 41-year-old Toronto woman whose dismembered remains turned up last month in Mississauga and Toronto.

A decomposed torso was found inside a suitcase floating in Lake Ontario off the shore of a Toronto park Wednesday. But police said they were waiting for the results of an autopsy Thursday before they could determine if those remains are connected to the Toronto woman’s case.