An Edmonton teen who has been missing for four months is now presumed dead.
At a news conference on Wednesday, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) announced his death is believed to be criminal in nature.
Samuel Bird, who would have turned 15 on Sunday, has not been seen since June 1.
Det. Jared Buhler said at 8:30 p.m. on the day he was seen walking through the grounds of Holy Cross School near 151 Street and 104 Avenue.
From there he went to a friend’s home in the area of 150 Street and 106 Avenue.
That was the last place he was seen.
A search warrant was executed at the home on Sept. 18.
On Monday, a fire broke out in the house.
Police said it was not known if the fire was related to the case, but it was considered suspicious.
“You don’t need to be a detective to understand how suspicious it is,” Buhler told reporters.
“We’re working in close collaboration with the investigative response team detectives who are also trained in arson investigation to determine how that investigation is going to be handled, moving forward, and how it does relate to the Samuel Bird investigation.”
Police initially said they were looking for a white van in relation to the fire.
On Wednesday, Buhler said the van was located Monday evening.
The search for Bird’s remains
Buhler said Bird’s body was disposed of outside the city.
“Today, with recognition that the winter is coming, we are releasing additional information based on evidence and intelligence obtained during the investigation,” he said.
“We now believe the offender, or offenders responsible for Samuel’s disappearance, disposed of Samuel’s body no more than 150 kilometres from Edmonton, and the disposal of his body occurred within hours of his disappearance on June 1.
“We believe Samuel’s body was disposed of on land and that steps were taken by the offender or offenders, to conceal Samuel’s body in order to avoid detection.”
He asked landowners in the area to be on the lookout for Bird’s remains.
While Bird’s family has spent significant time searching in the North Saskatchewan River, Buhler said his team doesn’t believe Bird’s body was disposed of in the water.
“The information that Samuel is in the water first arose through belief, through faith in Indigenous cultural traditions,” he said.
“I don’t diminish that, because I understand that. That said, we cannot deploy police resources to information that comes from a source like that. I wish we had the resources to do it.”
Social media speculation
Buhler acknowledged there has been a lot of criticism of police over the apparent handling of the investigation, but defended the work done by his team.
“Investigations are not conducted in public, and for this, we make no apology,” he said.
“I can now advise that the delay and release of information concerning Samuel’s disappearance was strategic and was carefully considered by the homicide team. Investigative steps and evidence collected in the first 40 days of the investigation prior to the matter becoming a focus of social media discussion, speculation and contamination have been critical to the case and will be critical to future potential prosecutions.”
He said speculation over what happened to Bird on social media has taken significant resources from the investigation.
“There is a lot of misinformation, there’s a lot of conjecture, of theories based on nothing more than rumors, and it has cost us a significant amount of time that could have been otherwise spent investigating actual evidence,” he said.
“We’ve received literally hundreds of tips through both Crime Stoppers and through our police dispatch, on 911, many of those tips are simply recycling the same information that we’ve already seen over again, and it’s been a challenge.”
He also addressed videos posted to social media claiming to show Bird being attacked or killed.
“It’s impossible to assess the timing of when those videos were taken. And in my opinion, it’s impossible to even conclude that the individual depicted, or individuals depicted in those videos are, in fact, Samuel I tend to believe they’re not,” he said.
“We traced one of the primary sources of that information to a remote location in B.C., a young man who had absolutely no presence in Edmonton and or association to Samuel Bird. “But you can imagine that significant time and effort were eaten up to get to that point where we could eliminate those videos. Those individuals should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.”
‘His laughter, his spirit and his love are what define him’
Bird’s family also spoke at the news conference, sharing their grief.
“Samuel’s disappearance has shattered our lives in ways that cannot be measured. As Samuel’s mother, I have carried this pain every single day since he went missing,” Alanna Bird said.
“I want people to remember Samuel, not as a headline, not as a case file, but as a loved son, a brother, a cousin and a friend. His laughter, his spirit and his love are what define him, not the circumstances of his disappearance.”
His father, Justin Bird, said that he had avoided speaking to the media in the earlier parts of the investigation, but he felt it was time to make a public statement.
“I love and miss my son. I cry alone and my heart breaks daily with the pain and memories of time with him,” he said.
“On car rides, certain songs break me down in tears because they remind me of my Sammy.”
“Finding Sam has always been the focus, which is why I haven’t spoken publicly until now. My family and I will continue to look for Sam by foot, boat and helicopter and any means available to us and I thank everyone who has contributed to this effort.”
His paternal grandmother Jerry Potts spoke about the love and light he brought to his family.
“He was full of spirit, promise and love, a child with dreams, laughter and a soul. All rooted in the strength of our ancestors. My Sam-I-Am was a cultural helper, learning about our cultural ways to serve his people when the time came,” she said.
“Losing a loved one to violence is a devastating, life altering experience that leaves behind a void filled with pain, questions and a deep sense of injustice. It is a kind of grief that does not just mourn the loss of a life. It mourns the way that life was taken.”
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact EPS at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
