Paradise woman’s death ‘a homicide investigation’
Remains of Patricia Rice discovered last Wednesday in field
Police are now treating a suspicious death as a homicide investigation after the body of a Paradise woman was found in a field near a Mcdonald’s restaurant last week.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary found human remains in a marsh area off a walking trail Wednesday, only a few metres from the backyard fences of residential homes on Canterbury Drive in Paradise.
The field is located on Topsail Road near the Kenmount Road overpass.
The next day, police identified the deceased person as Patricia Anne Rice. The 53-year-old woman had been reported missing two days earlier. An RNC news release said she was last seen at approximately 3 a.m. on July 24 near Tim Hortons on Topsail Road.
At the time of her disappearance Tuesday, Rice was described as 5-5 and 130 pounds with mediumlength blond hair. She was wearing jeans, a dark zip-up jacket and black sneakers with laces.
One man who spoke with The Telegram Friday said he saw two people walking a dog near Tim Hor- tons at approximately 1 a.m. July 24. He said one of them fit the description of Rice. The man said he has made a statement to police, but did not want to be identified.
Thus far, the RNC’s major crime unit and forensic identification section have been involved with the investigation. Members of the Rovers Search and Rescue have also assisted police in their search of the area where Rice’s remains were discovered.