Montreal police have found the body of a young girl who went missing 12 years ago, which has prompted an investigation into her apparent murder.
Jolene Riendeau was last seen alive on April 12, 1999, when she was playing near her house in a southwest Montreal neighbourhood.
Despite about 1,500 tips in the years that followed, she was never seen alive again.
Riendeau was just 10 years old when she disappeared.
On Wednesday, police announced that Riendeau's remains had been located and that her death was being investigated as a homicide.
While police won't say how they came to locate the missing girl's body, Sgt. Ian Lafreniere said investigators are pursuing a lead that could help them break the case.
"We do have a very serious lead about a possible suspect," Lafreniere told CTV News Wednesday.
"Knowing where we found the body, how it happened, when we discovered the body; that is the kind of detail we keep for ourselves."
Lafreniere said police are keeping the details of the case under wraps for now.
He said that investigators told the Riendeau family about their tragic finding on Wednesday morning.
"For them it was a shock," said Lafreniere.
The family gathered together on Wednesday, but made no immediate statements to the press.
Riendeau's mother, Dolores Soucy, posted on Facebook Wednesday, saying her daughter will rest in peace.
The Riendeau case remained a high-profile one in Montreal for many years and police twice dredged the Lachine Canal to search for her body.
Steve Roberts, a retired Montreal police homicide detective, said Riendeau's disappearance kept investigators busy for years, but they were never able to close the case.
"It was an up and down investigation," Roberts told CTV News on Wednesday.
"Every time you thought you had a good lead, you were at the top of the mountain. It didn't pan out, you were at the bottom.
"There is nothing worse for an investigator than an open case, because you are working for the family."
Riendeau's face is believed to have appeared on about a million missing children's posters after she disappeared.
With a report by CTV Montreal's Genevieve Beauchemin and files from The Canadian Press
