Shelagh Neck, a Peterborough genetic genealogist and family history researcher, helped play a key role in finding family members of an Alabama man whose cremated remains were turned in to OPP five years ago.
In June, Peterborough County OPP appealed to the public to assist them after a box was found inside a storage container near Stoney Lake, north of Peterborough. The box was turned over to police on June 25, 2017.
OPP say inside the box were the cremated remains (ashes) of a man along with paperwork identifying the man as Samuel Wilson from Rainsville, Ala. Wilson had a birthdate of March 17, 1941.
Neck says she reached out to the OPP on Aug. 19 after hearing about the appeal. She believed she could help them using the same research techniques she uses to help adoptees find their biological family members.
“After asking a few questions, I began my research immediately,” she told Global News Peterborough on Wednesday. “Once I had the name of Samuel Wilson’s widow, I was able to locate her through public records in a genealogical database rather quickly, although that information was from six years prior and she had relocated to another state after Samuel’s death.”
Neck suggested to contact law enforcement to check if she was still resident at the address she had provided. OPP say Neck’s efforts and those of the New Market Police Department in Tennessee helped them locate the widow of Wilson.
“Luckily, that particular town was quite small and they were able to locate her,” Neck said.
OPP said they assisted with the family’s wishes regarding Wilson’s remains.
No other details were provided.
- Trudeau says ‘good luck’ to Saskatchewan premier in carbon price spat
- Canadians more likely to eat food past best-before date. What are the risks?
- Hundreds mourn 16-year-old Halifax homicide victim: ‘The youth are feeling it’
- On the ‘frontline’: Toronto-area residents hiring security firms to fight auto theft
Comments