BRIDGEWATER — The investigation into the death of 12-year-old Karissa Boudreau is continuing, but police now say they’re awaiting the results of DNA analysis.

Whether arrests will be made before that information becomes available remains unclear.

“I think if the investigators have enough evidence to go without the DNA, then they would do so,” Sgt. John Collyer, the acting deputy chief of the Bridgewater Police Service, said last week.

“We continue to investigate,” Sgt. Collyer said. “As I’ve said in the past, we are not going to discuss the ins and outs of our investigation. People have to trust us.

“I realize it’s not as visually obvious as it once was, but there is an investigation ongoing,” he added.

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How long the DNA results will take is also uncertain, the acting deputy chief said.

“The problem is that we are just one murder amongst many murders across Canada, so we’re in a queue and we have to wait our turn. I’m sure that the national crime lab will do their best for us,” he said.

Bridgewater Police and the RCMP are jointly investigating the homicide. Karissa was living in Bridgewater at the time of her death and was first reported as a missing person on January 27. Her body was discovered just outside town limits in Conquerall Bank on February 9 which brought the RCMP into the probe.

Sgt. Collyer says that while some members of the public are becoming impatient, Karissa’s family understands police are working on the case.

“I talk to them fairly regularly. They don’t ask how we’re doing. They seem to trust that we are moving in the right direction and for that I’m truly appreciative,” he said.

“I realize as far as the community is concerned a lot of time has gone by. We did ask for them to be patient. I think they have been, for the most part, patient and we appreciate that,” he added.

A team of investigators continues to work on the case on a daily basis.

On February 15, a day after they announced that Karissa’s death was being treated as a homicide, police indicated they’d arrested two suspects for questioning, held them for 24 hours and released them without laying charges. Sgt. Collyer confirmed last week that those two people remain the only suspects in the case.

Although police have never identified the pair, they have said the two Bridgewater residents knew Karissa and the girl’s death was not a random killing.

Sgt. Collyer said investigators remain confident that they will solve the murder. They just need more time.

“We realize the importance of this to the family and to the general public, and our members are very invested in this investigation as well. We fully expect to bring this to a successful resolution,” he said.

“But,” he added, “we will not proceed with charges until we are good and certain that we have a case to bring.”

Karissa was a Grade 6 student at Bridgewater Elementary when her mother reported her missing late on January 27. Penny Boudreau told police she’d last seen her daughter when she left her in the family car outside the Sobeys store in the Bridgewater Mall around 5:30 p.m. Mother and daughter had argued and Ms Boudreau said Karissa chose to wait in the car while she went into the store.

For two weeks, a full-scale missing person investigation — which included ground search and rescue volunteers, a helicopter, RCMP divers and a public awareness campaign — turned up no trace of Karissa. Then on February 9, a passerby discovered the girl’s body covered in snow down over the riverbank off Highway 331 near the old Irving property.

Police have not revealed how and when Karissa died or if she was killed where her body was found, saying they don’t want to jeopardize the investigation.

posted on 03/24/08