Search for missing Calgary senior Diane Cooper ends in tragedy
Published 2:29 pm Sunday, April 19, 2026
The search for missing Calgary senior Diane Cooper, 82, has reached its conclusion.
In a release on April 18, Consort RCMP announced that the remains of Cooper had been found near Kindersley, Sask., just after 7:30 p.m. on April 18.
Cooper’s dog, Halo, was found with her, safe.
Consort RCMP reported that the circumstances surrounding Cooper’s death are not suspicious.
The recovery concludes an exhaustive search centred on Hoosier, Sask., the last place Cooper was seen on camera on April 6.
Cooper, 82, was last seen in Stettler on April 6, where she was fuelling up her vehicle. She was later reported missing to the Consort RCMP at 9:30 p.m. that day.
Subsequent investigation has led the RCMP to confirm that Cooper was seen in the vicinity of Hoosier, Sask., in the company of her Dalmatian, just before 11 p.m.
Hoosier is a small hamlet southeast of Consort along Highway 317.
An update provided by the RCMP on April 17 said that Cooper left Calgary about 3:30 p.m. with her dog, Halo.
About 9:30 p.m., an Apple AirTag ping placed Cooper in the vicinity of Veteran, Alta., on Highway 12, between Coronation and Consort.
While an RCMP officer patrolled the area, nothing was found, and the ping was the last time the AirTag was active.
As the investigation progressed, officers were able to place Cooper in Hanna at about 7 p.m., before she found her way back to Highway 12.
On April 8, the search for Cooper expanded into Saskatchewan and the RCMP issued be-on-the-lookout bulletins for her vehicle. The RCMP air unit conducted patrols of the region, with no success. The next day, patrols and air unit flights continued in an ever-expanding search area. By April 10, officers began checking local animal shelters in the hope of locating Halo.
During this time, officers continued to receive tips, with nothing substantiated.
Investigators received their first solid lead on April 13, when a business in Hoosier shared surveillance footage of a vehicle matching Cooper’s driving through their site on April 6. After review of the footage, the RCMP confirmed that it was Cooper with her dog.
As the RCMP investigated, they spoke to someone in Stettler who said they provided Cooper directions back to Calgary, but then witnessed her depart in the opposite direction.
Zoe Cooper, the woman’s granddaughter, said in a CBC interview on April 13 that her grandmother had mild dementia, but she had been able to function independently and that the trip out of town was out of the ordinary.
The RCMP has received assistance so far from many different police and outside agencies over the course of this investigation.
–With files from Black Press Media