{"id":184326,"date":"2025-10-02T05:56:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T05:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/184326\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T05:56:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T05:56:10","slug":"search-for-indigenous-teen-missing-in-edmonton-now-being-investigated-as-a-homicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/184326\/","title":{"rendered":"Search for Indigenous teen missing in Edmonton now being investigated as a homicide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The hunt for a missing Indigenous Edmonton teen has ended in tragedy, despite a search effort that saw people come from as far away as Manitoba to help.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758298208_703_70c8fc80.png\" alt=\"\" style=\"position:absolute;width:1px;height:1px\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Edmonton Police Det. Jared Buhler said on Wednesday that there is reason to believe Samuel Bird is dead and that his death is criminal. The case is now being treated as a homicide.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'Edmonton home searched as part of Samuel Bird disappearance investigation'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5P_SAMUEL_BIRD_LATEST.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"   data-\/><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1:12<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEdmonton home searched as part of Samuel Bird disappearance investigation\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>The 14-year-old was last seen in June, when he left his home on the evening of June 1, 2025, with plans to visit a friend in the Canora neighbourhood.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>In August, police said his disappearance had been deemed suspicious and they made a plea for tips from the public.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tFamily and friends of 14-year-old Samuel Bird have spent weeks searching the Edmonton area for any sign of the missing teen.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy: Alanna Bird\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSammy was a huge part of my life and now there\u2019s a hole in my heart that will never be filled,\u201d said his father Justin B. Bird, struggling to hold back his emotions as he spoke during the police update on the investigation on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tSamuel Bird\u2019s mother, Alanna, said her son\u2019s disappearance has \u201cshattered lives in ways that cannot be measured.\u201d\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Bird\u2019s mother reacted to the news her son\u2019s death has been deemed a homicide, saying Samuel\u2019s disappearance has shattered lives in ways that cannot be measured.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHis laughter, his spirit and his love are what defined him, not the circumstances of his disappearance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758298209_554_national.jpg\" alt=\"For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGet breaking National news<\/p>\n<p>For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.<\/p>\n<p>Buhler, who works in the EPS Homicide Section, said, \u201cWe believe Samuel\u2019s body was disposed of on land, and that steps were taken to conceal the body to avoid detection.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tEdmonton police confirm that a house that was damaged in a fire on Monday, was earlier searched as part of the investigation into Samuel Bird\u2019s disappearance.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tGlobal News\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>He confirmed a duplex near 106 Avenue and 151 Street in Edmonton\u2019s Canora neighbourhood, which was damaged by a fire on Monday, had earlier been searched by investigators.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis residence is the same location where a where a search warrant was executed on Sept 18, 2025,\u201d said Buhler.\u00a0 \u201cThat search warrant was executed in relation to the disappearance of Samuel Bird.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Buhler, said police have conducted three searches using specialized personnel and canine resources and continue to work to target a specific area where Samuel\u2019s remains may be located.<\/p>\n<p>Story continues below advertisement<\/p>\n<p>Police have released a map of the area and are appealing to members of the public, landowners, hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts who frequent the area to be on the outlook for the teenager\u2019s remains.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-figure__image\" alt=\"Edmonton police homicide detectives have released a map of the area where they believe Samuel Bird's remains were dumped and are asking members of the public, who frequent the area, to keep an eye out for his remains.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/samuel-bird-map.jpg&amp;w=12&amp;h=12&amp;crop=1\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/samuel-bird-map.jpg\"   data- data- width=\"556\" height=\"390\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tA map, released by Edmonton police homicide detectives, shows the area, west of Edmonton, where they believe Samuel Bird\u2019s remains may be found.\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tEdmonton Police Service\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want people to remember Samuel, not as a headline, not as a case file, but a loved son, a brother, a cousin and a friend,\u201d said the teen\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n<p>With files from The Canadian Press.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t&amp;copy 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The hunt for a missing Indigenous Edmonton teen has ended in tragedy, despite a search effort that saw&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":156015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2169,92814,43,44,81952,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-184326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-crime","9":"tag-edmonton-homicide","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-samuel-bird","13":"tag-top-news","14":"tag-top-stories","15":"tag-topnews","16":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}