Police still hoping $50K rewards lead to tips in cold cases
Officers seek information on Htoo family triple homicide, Keepness disappearance
The Regina Police Service (RPS) has renewed two $50,000 rewards for information on the triple homicide of a Karen refugee family in 2010 and the disappearance of Tamra Keepness in 2004.
“It’s an important conversation for us to keep going with our community,” Chief Evan Bray said Wednesday after a Board of Police Commissioners meeting.
The RPS receives regular tips on both cases — on the Keepness case, almost monthly — which are looked into and investigated thoroughly, he said.
According to Supt. Corey Zaharuk, the RPS received a tip in August they hoped would be a significant piece of information for the triple homicide case. Bray confirmed they sent officers to Vancouver to follow up on the tip, but to this day, neither case has had a breakthrough.
“That’s a very serious incident that occurred in our community and the fact that we’ve not been able to bring closure to that — we have not been able to successfully lay a charge, take that case to court — is rare for our police service,” said Bray, adding the RPS has a very high closure rate when it comes to homicide investigations.
Karen refugees from a Thailand refugee camp, Gray Nay Hoo, his wife Maw Maw and their son Seven June Htoo lived in Regina for two years before their bodies were found in their residence at 323 Oakview Dr. in the city’s Uplands area on Aug. 6, 2010.
There have been more than 200 interviews, many of which involved Karen-speaking people, with the help of translators brought in from communities across Canada and one from the United States. Persons of interest were identified and several investigative avenues pursued. Since 2010, police say they have worked to build relationships with Regina’s Karen community. They believe there are people within the community who have information that could be crucial to the investigation.
In July 2015, the file was assigned to the RPS cold case co-ordinator, who follows up on any new information that comes to light.
Meanwhile, Tamra Keepness also remains on the radar for police. She was five years old when last seen in her home in the 1800 block of Ottawa Street the evening of July 5, 2004, and was reported missing by family July 6.
An initial reward of $25,000 first announced in July 2004 was increased to $50,000 in July 2014.
It is being offered in return for information that leads to the whereabouts of Keepness, who would now be 21 years old.
“As we heard from the police, we continue to get leads all the time. Some of them very recently, and it’s important as an incentive to have someone come forward that could actually break the case,” said Mayor Michael Foguere. “You never know what’s going to happen.”
The rewards are reviewed yearly and a decision made on whether or not to renew them. Guidelines for the reward are as follows:
■ Contact the RPS cold case unit if you have information regarding the investigation.
■ To qualify for the reward, the RPS requires people to provide their name, address and a complete statement of their knowledge of the case. They may be required to testify, no confidentiality can be offered.
■ In the event that the information provided leads to the location of Keepness or an arrest for the triple homicide, you must file a claim in a letter addressed to the chief of police.
■ In the case of the triple homicide, upon completion of the case (a conviction in court), the Board of Police Commissioners and the chief of police will determine the portion of the reward to be paid to the claimant(s).