Peel police have found a woman’s severed head about one kilometer upriver from where a foot was found Wednesday.

The head was spotted by officers scouring Mississauga’s Credit River early Thursday afternoon.

Forensic analysis will be needed to determine whether the head and foot belong to the same woman.

“We don’t have a cause of death and without a cause of death we can’t call this a homicide but certainly foul play occurred,” Randy Cowan, the acting inspector for the Peel Regional Police homicide bureau, told reporters gathered at the scene. “There is definitely something amiss.”

The foot, which was severed above the ankle and was painted with yellow nail polish, was spotted by a group of hikers in Hewick Meadows Park near Eglinton Avenue and Mississauga Road at around 11:30 a.m Wednesday.

Divers scouring the Credit River for additional body parts then found the head at around 12 p.m. Thursday.

Both body parts are believed to have been severed within the last couple of weeks.

Cowan did not describe the head other than to say its size indicates that it belonged to an adult woman and not a child.

“At this point I am not prepared to get into the description,” Cowan said. “Until we get accurate measurements I don’t want misinformation out there.”

Search for body parts continues

Police divers, search dogs and Ontario Provincial Police helicopters were brought in after the foot was discovered Wednesday and will continue to search the area for additional body parts in the coming days.

Speaking with reporters, Cowan said residents in the area should be “vigilant” and contact police if they see anything suspicious.

Anyone with information is asked to call police at 905-453-2121 ext. 3205 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

With files from CP24’s Cam Woolley

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