On Monday and Tuesday, RCMP west of Edmonton will scour a lake near the Parkland County home where a 36-year-old mother of two was found dead nearly five years ago.
“We’ve been looking at all avenues and possibilities and trying to find closure to this case so we’re picking up and making sure all possibilities have been investigated,” RCMP Sgt. Jack Poitras told reporters Monday.
The circumstances surrounding Jolene Marie Cote’s final hours remain a mystery. While police said her 2011 death is a homicide, they’ve never released a cause, made any arrests, or identified suspects publicly.
Cote was last seen alive the evening of Oct. 12, 2011 following a soccer game at the Edmonton Soccer Centre West. She went to the Walmart on Stony Plain Road in west Edmonton, where surveillance video showed her leaving at 10:40 p.m. That was the last time the Spruce Grove school teacher was seen alive.
Cote’s body was found early the next morning by her husband, at their acreage northeast of Spruce Grove. The things she bought the night before were still in her Jeep. Police arrived on scene at 6:20 a.m.
In the early days of the 2011 investigation, it was reported that theft or robbery may have played a role in the attack and death of Cote, as wedding rings and a necklace belonging to her were reported missing.
Police later determined Cote was not wearing the jewelry on the night she was killed. Investigators also confirmed there wasn’t any evidence to suggest theft or robbery was a motive in the fatal attack. Police do not believe it was a random act.
READ MORE: Family of Jolene Cote still looking for answers 5 years after murder
As part of the investigation, the RCMP’s Underwater Recovery Team from British Columbia will be searching a small lake just east of Range Road 264, on Township Road 532A, near the home where Cote lived. Mounties said there would be a police presence in the area during the two-day search, and wanted to assure residents there isn’t any risk to public safety.
“It’s always difficult to search water area depending on the bottom of it, so we want to make sure we haven’t missed something or (see if) there’s something there that can be found with a more thorough search,” Poitras said. “So we’re going to spend a bit more time and see if there’s anything there.”
Cote was driving a 2002 silver Jeep Liberty (pictured below) on the night she was killed. Police are asking for anyone who may have seen the vehicle that evening to contact them.
The family is offering a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the murder.
“There’s no public safety issues here, we’re just following up with searches for the area,” Poitras said. “Hopefully we get some new information and maybe it can be the key piece that we’re looking for that (we) need to break the case.”
Anyone who knew Cote, as well as members of the public, who may have information that could assist investigators are asked to contact the RCMP’s Stony Plain Detachment at 780-968-7267, or submit information anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
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