Police say genetic testing has been used to confirm a homicide victim found in Quebec in 1979 was a woman who had been reported missing months earlier from Ontario.
Police say Pamela Harvey was reported missing from Sudbury, Ont., on Christmas Day 1978 at the age of 23.
In March 1979, the body of an unidentified woman who police say was murdered was found in St-Eustache, Que.
Police say Harvey’s family provided DNA samples in 2018 to a newly launched RCMP-led missing persons program.
In 2025, a forensic dentist was able to connect Harvey’s case with the unidentified homicide victim, and follow-up tests by the Quebec coroner’s office confirmed the match.
Police say detectives determined the person believed to be responsible for her killing died in 1979.
A spokesperson with the Quebec provincial police would not provide further comment about the presumed killer or details about the homicide investigation.
The Montreal Gazette reported on March 21, 1979, that an unidentified young woman found by two hunters in a wooded area of St. Eustache had been shot twice in the head.
The police spokesperson reached Tuesday would not confirm whether the two cases are connected.
