Police reopen 30-year-old cold case

Ontario Provincial Police have reopened an investigation into a 30-year-old homicide case by offering a $50,000 reward, and by issuing a new sketch of the victim.

The woman was found floating in the Nation River, about 60 km east of Ottawa, on May 3, 1975. Investigators believe she might have been in the water since the previous fall.

In spite of numerous public appeals, the woman has never been identified.

Police say the woman had been strangled with a cable-television wire, and her hands and feet had been bound with men's neckties. One tie was described as "Canadian" because it bore three Canadian emblems on a navy blue background.

The OPP hopes the release of a new sketch, combined with a $50,000 reward, will trigger someone's memory and provide investigators with the information they need to identify the victim, and find the person or persons responsible for her death.

The woman is described as being white, between 25 and 50 years of age, five feet three inches tall, weighing 100 pounds, with dark-brown, shoulder-length hair that had been dyed reddish-blond. She was wearing a blue body suit.

Police say she had extensive dental work, and had her appendix removed at some time in her life.

Investigators are also asking the public to consider the possibility that the victim may be from Quebec, because of the proximity of the Nation River to the Ontario-Quebec border.

Anyone with information is asked to call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).