FORT SASKATCHEWAN, Alta. – Wendy Yurko no longer has a glimmer of hope that her daughter is alive.
She said RCMP told her a body discovered in a field in central Alberta is likely Dana Turner, and it looks like she was murdered. Police later officially confirmed the identity of the remains.
“That little bit of hope that I had been trying to hold on to for dear life is gone,” Yurko said Wednesday from her home in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
“Now there’s going to be a huge black hole that nothing can fill for the rest of my life.”
Turner’s body was found Sunday 10 kilometres west of Innisfail.
Sgt. Tim Taniguchi said dental records and DNA were used to identify the body. He added investigators believe the death is suspicious because of the condition of the remains. The cause and method of her death were still being determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Turner, 31, was last seen in the Edmonton area on Aug. 14 leaving a west-end hotel in a rental car with an unknown man.
Her mother said Turner struggled with addiction and mental health issues and had a few brief stays at Alberta Hospital.
While in hospital, Turner became romantically involved with another patient, Mark Lindsay, the son of a former Edmonton police chief.
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In June, Lindsay stabbed Turner in the head with a paring knife at his apartment. Turner survived the attack, and Lindsay pleaded guilty to assault. He was sentenced to the 50 days he had already served in custody.
Yurko said Lindsay was released from jail two days before Turner was last seen. On Sept. 21, he was arrested near Kamloops, B.C., and charged with robbery and possession of a dangerous weapon. He remains in custody there.
Yurko said her daughter had planned to move out of the province, reunite with her three young children and get a fresh start on life.
“She was the most beautiful person in the world,” said Yurko. “She would give away anything to anybody who needed it.”
She said Turner was on medication for manic depression but was also studying theology and wanted to become a minister. In the days before she disappeared, she spent hours writing Lindsay a letter forgiving him for the knife attack.
Yurko said she’s now busy planning a funeral and hoping police will soon be able to answer her many questions.
“I am existing to find the truth about my baby,” she said.
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