After 137 days, the mother of a missing Edmonton teenager has received the news she knew in her heart was already true: her son, Samuel Bird, is dead and he has finally been found.
The Edmonton Police Service said investigators found the remains of the Indigenous 14-year-old in a rural area outside of Edmonton on Thursday.
“After a lengthy and complex investigation, we are pleased to be able to conclude this file and hopefully bring some measure of resolution and justice to Samuel’s loved ones, who have been searching tirelessly for him,” said EPS homicide Det. Jared Buhler, the lead investigator in Samuel’s case.
A day before Samuel’s remains were found, a man was arrested and charged with over a dozen crimes.
Bryan Farrell, 27, was taken into custody on Oct. 15 and charged with second-degree murder and interfering with a body in relation to the homicide of Samuel Bird.
Police said Farrell is also charged with 13 other offences: two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of arson to property with disregard for human life, arson to property, unauthorized possession of a firearm, two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon, three counts of assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, uttering threats, and fraud over $5,000.
Edmonton police said Farrell is the only person arrested and charged in the homicide.
“At this time, police are not looking for other suspects in relation to the murder,” police said in their news release on Thursday.
“Investigators are aware of ongoing social media speculation on this file, and wish to remind the public that harassment and threatening behaviour is unlawful.”
The case generated an immense outpouring of interest and action, with dozens of strangers from across Western Canada joining friends and family in the search for the Indigenous teenager who went missing on June 1.
“My son Samuel has been located, a big thank you to the Edmonton police for locating him,” his mom Alanna Bird said in a post on Facebook on Thursday afternoon.
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Bird thanked the small army of friends, family and volunteers who helped in the search, posting missing person posters and scouring areas both within Edmonton and outside the city.
“Also I want to thank the searchers and Samuel’s warriors and the cherished friends I made along the way in hopes of finding him,” she said.
“I want to thank every single person who donated in helps of finding my boy, without all the help we couldn’t of kept this search going.”
Det. Buhler said last week he’d never seen anything like it.
Police believe Samuel was murdered. Investigators and volunteers have spent the last four and a half months searching for any sign of the Indigenous teenager.
Last week, police narrowed their focus to a wooded area near Carrot Creek in Yellowhead County, about 160 km west of Edmonton.
Edmonton police said at the time they received a compelling tip that led them to direct resources to the heavily-wooded region.
The EPS missing person unit led the search with the help of cadaver dogs, drones and other professional organizations on the ground: Parkland Search and Rescue (PSAR), Search and Rescue Dog Association of Alberta (SARDAA) and Edmonton Regional Search and Rescue Association (ERSARA).
Police said if the teenager’s remains had been in that area all summer and into the fall, due to the science of decomposition they would likely be searching for bones.
Bird went missing on June 1, after leaving his home to visit a friend in the Canora neighbourhood of west Edmonton.
He was seen on surveillance video at approximately 8:30 p.m., walking through the grounds of Holy Cross School near 151 Street and 104 Avenue, after which he went to a friend’s house near 150 Street and 106 Avenue.
That duplex in the west end was was raided by police in September, and at the beginning of this month the home was torched in what police say was a highly suspicious fire.
It’s not yet known if the arson charge laid against Farrell is in relation to that fire or another case.
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