CANADA • Mila JOHNSON, 16 ~ Mississauga Ontario

Brampton family searches for missing 16-year-old girl

August 16, 2012 Updated: August 16, 2012 | 10:57 pm
By Staff Torstar News Service

As police in Mississauga investigate the discovery of a female head and foot, a Brampton family desperately wants to find out what happened to a missing 16-year-old girl.

Mila Johnson was last seen Aug. 3 around 5:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Rd. S. and Queen St. E. area in Brampton. Her family became concerned when the girl, who family members say is always happy and can make anyone smile, didn’t come home and deactivated her Facebook account.

“It doesn’t seem her character to just take off,” her mother Wendy Johnson said.

Detectives met the family on Thursday to ask whether the girl had any scars or was wearing yellow nail polish before she went missing.

The toenails on a foot discovered Wednesday in a Mississauga park had bright yellow nail polish, police said.

Johnson’s older sister owned two bottles of yellow nail polish but the family isn’t sure the girl was wearing any, her mother said. The detective took the bottles and said they were asking other families similar questions.

Police usually don’t notify families of missing persons to notify them when a body is found, so they don’t worry them for no reason, Peel police Sgt. Peter Brandwood said.

But sometimes they must contact families to get information “that would help investigators in the interim until we get scientific confirmation” of the body’s identity, Brandwood added.

Margarita Shumakova, an 18-year-old girl who once lived with Mila, was murdered last summer.

She would remember the pain the family felt when their friend went missing and likely wouldn’t run away, said Melixsa Lugo, Mila’s sister.

http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/339771/brampton-family-searches-for-missing-16-year-old-girl/

Mississauga search resumes after woman's head, foot found
Police say search in park and river will continue Friday

CBC News
Posted: Aug 16, 2012 10:57 AM ET
Last Updated: Aug 17, 2012 6:04 AM ET

Peel Regional Police are resuming ther search related to body parts found in the Credit River area of Mississauga, Ont.,

Police found a woman's severed head in the river on Thursday morning, one day after a human foot with painted toenails was found in the vicinity.

From the time the head was discovered to when the search was suspended for the night, police found nothing new, Sgt. Pete Brantwood said.

Investigators found the head about a kilometre north of the spot at Hewick Meadows Park where the foot was discovered, acting Insp. Randy Cowan said at a news conference.

Cowan could not confirm if the foot and head belonged to the same person.

"Without a cause of death we can't call it homicide, but certainly foul play — there's definitely something amiss," said Cowan.

A group of people had been hiking in the park near Eglinton Avenue West and Mississauga Road on Wednesday when they discovered what appeared to be a foot in the shallows of the Credit River that runs through the park, said Cowan.

A coroner later confirmed it was a human right foot that had been severed from the ankle down.

Police are currently running tests on the foot and will run tests on the head to help arrive at an identification.

The presence of yellow nail polish has led police to suspect the foot belonged to a woman. Police suspect the foot was severed in the last few weeks.

Police haven’t been able to determine if the body parts had been placed there or if they washed down the river, which flows southwards from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment towards Lake Ontario.

'I don't want to be afraid here'

Search crews, including divers, canine units and an OPP helicopter, spent the day combing the area. In the early evening, there were at least a dozen officers searching the ground and a half-dozen scouring the water, CBC's Jeff Semple reported.

Investigators said they expect to be on scene until at least the end of Friday.

The police missing persons unit and homicide investigators are on the case, said Cowan. Police are searching missing-persons cases as far upriver as Caledon in hopes of finding a match.

"We're looking for anybody that has seen anything suspicious within the last couple of weeks," Cowan said.

"We're also looking for people to be vigilant in the area if they're out walking and they happen to find something that causes them concern to give us a call."

Angela Elammar, who lives with her family in a home facing the park, said her concern was for her children. The park is a popular spot for family walks in the quiet residential neighbourhood.

"It scared me a bit because my kids take our dogs walking there," she said, adding that won't happen again "for a long time."

Another resident, Sherine Ankle, gasped in shock when she heard about the body parts. The park is where she takes her seven-year-old daughter to get some morning exercise, she said.

"It's upsetting, it's very upsetting," Ankle said. "It's sad we don't know who it is. It could have been us."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2012/08/16/foot-discovered-mississauga-park126.html

Mississauga dismemberment case: No link to missing Brampton girl, police say

Published 13 minutes ago
Alexandra Bosanac, Staff Reporter

Peel police are no closer to identifying the victim whose remains were found in a Mississauga park this week, Const. George Tudos said Friday.

Police resumed the large-scale search of Hewick Meadows Park, located near Eglinton Ave. and Mississauga Rd., following the discovery this week of a woman’s severed right foot and head.

At a media briefing this morning, Tudos dispelled speculation that the remains belong to missing Brampton teen Mila Johnson.

“That is completely separate from our investigation here,” Tudos said.

There is also no connection to the Luka Rocco Magnotta investigation, he said.

Police are waiting for the results of a post-mortem exam scheduled for later today.

Hikers found the right foot, severed at the ankle, floating near the bank of the Credit River south of Eglinton Ave. W. on Wednesday. Police suspected the foot was a woman’s because the toenails were brightly coloured with yellow nail polish.

The head was found on the bank of the river by police searchers around noon Thursday, about a kilometre north of where the foot was recovered.

Forensic tests will reveal whether the body parts are a match.

Judging from its condition, it’s likely the foot was detached “fairly recently,” Det. Randy Cowan said Thursday.

The size of the remains suggests the victim was an adult, Cowan added.

Police can’t say yet if the body parts were placed at the banks or transported by water from some other point on the river, which flows from headwaters above the Niagara Escarpment to Lake Ontario.

Ontario Provincial Police helicopters were dispatched to assist in the recovery, in addition to Peel’s marine unit. Cadaver dogs were on hand to search the river and surrounding parkland.

Police are seeking anyone who witnessed something suspicious within the past couple of weeks and urged people to call police if they find something out of place while walking in the area.

Officers are also sifting through missing person’s reports, to see if there’s a link, Cowan said.

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/crime/article/1243141--mississauga-dismemberment-case-no-link-to-missing-brampton-girl-police-say

Police Continue Search for Missing Brampton Teen

By Peel Regional Police
Published 09/13/2012

Brampton - Investigators from the 22 Division Criminal Investigation Bureau are seeking the public’s assistance in locating a 16 year old female last seen on August 3, 2012.

Mila JOHNSON was last seen leaving her residence on foot. She left her home on Orenda Court, at approximately 8:00 p.m. on August 3, 2012.

Ms. Johnson is described as bi-racial with a medium complexion. She is 5’2” tall and weighs 130 lbs, with a medium build. She has brown eyes and straight brown hair below her shoulders. Both ears are pierced and she has good teeth. It is not known what she was wearing at the time she left the residence.

To view a photo of Mila Johnson, please visit our web site at www.peelpolice.ca.

There have been sightings of Ms. Johnson at the following locations;

August 11 – Bramalea City Centre food court

At this time she was with a male black, 18-19 years of age, 6’1”, very skinny with a black goatee, grey hat and wearing green camouflage shorts.

August 14 – Islington subway station

She has never been reported missing to police in the past, and it is unusual for her not to have been in contact with her family or friends.

Investigators are anxious to speak with Mila JOHNSON to ensure that she is safe.

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of Ms. JOHNSON is asked to call Peel Regional Police 22 Division Criminal Investigation Bureau at (905) 453-3311, ext.2233, or their local police service. Information may also be left anonymously by calling Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or by visiting http://www.peelcrimestoppers.ca/.

For media inquiries, please contact the on-duty Media Relations Officer at (905) 453-2121, ext. 4027.

http://www.thebramptonnews.com/articles/5692/1/Police-Continue-Search-for-Missing-Brampton-Teen/Page1.html