The RCMP scoured a swath of wooded land near Prince George, B.C., on Friday, trying to unearth clues in the case of a missing woman who disappeared seven years ago.
On Friday afternoon, the RCMP said officers had converged on the former property of a convicted killer to look for fresh evidence linked to the disappearance of Nicole Hoar, who was 25 when she went missing.
"The search is still in the preliminary stages and no evidence or remains have been located at this point," an RCMP statement read.
Hoar was working in B.C. as a tree planter when she disappeared on June 21, 2002, while hitchhiking on Highway 16.
The property once belonged to Leland Vincent Switzer, who is currently serving a life-sentence for second-degree murder.
Switzer killed his brother two days after Hoar vanished.
"We are supportive of the police investigation and hoping it may further their investigation into the case of our missing daughter," the Hoar family, of Red Deer, Alta., said in a statement released Friday afternoon. "Our thoughts continue to be with Nicole."
"Nicole is just one of many missing persons in that area and our thoughts continue to be with their families as well."
Since 1969, 18 women have gone missing along Highway 16. The 800-kilometre stretch of road connects Prince George to Prince Rupert, B.C. It has become known as the Highway of Tears.
Families of the missing women had asked for a public inquiry into the unsolved cases. In 2006, the RCMP launched a special investigation.
The property search began on Thursday. Cpl. Annie Linteau told CTV News Channel that officers are expected to continue working on the site for several days.
She would not say what led them to the property.
"All I can say at this point is that it is a historical unsolved homicide and we are looking for evidence, by which of course we mean remains, in this case," Linteau said Friday.
Mounties are interviewing the current owners of the land, which lies 25 minutes west of Prince George by car. The owners are not believed to have any connection to the case. But on Thursday, Linteau said a former owner of the property is of interest to police.
The search is taking place 30 kilometres from the gas station along Highway 16 where Hoar was last seen.
Hoar and at least eight other women have gone missing from the infamous highway since 1990. None of those cases have been solved.
Officers from the RCMP's provincial headquarters in Vancouver, from the Prince George detachment and the forensic identification section are involved in the search.
Prince George is the largest city in Northern B.C. It's located about 800 kilometres north of Vancouver.
With files from The Canadian Press
