By Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
Thelma Krull (WPS HANDOUT)
Winnipeg police think they have a potential new lead in the case of a woman who disappeared four years ago and was later found dead.
Police say someone driving a gold-coloured four-door imported sedan — a Toyota, Honda or other import from the 2005 to 2010 model years — was in a position to see Thelma Krull on July 11, 2015.
“Through a community tip, we have learned of an individual who may hold valuable information about Thelma’s disappearance,” Const. Jay Murray, a spokesman for the Winnipeg Police Service, said Thursday.
“This person … may not yet realize that they saw or heard something of value.”
He said investigators do not have a licence plate number and don’t know if the car was local or from another city or province.
Still, they hope the description may jog someone’s memory and provide new information in a case that has remained unsolved, despite hundreds of public tips over the years.
Krull, 57, left her suburban home to go for a walk and never came back.
Her mysterious disappearance gripped the city and led to a large search effort. Her glasses and cellphone were found in a nearby park, but there were no other signs of her.
Police received more than 450 tips in the months and years that followed. A few times they released updated information, including a sketch of a possible suspect — a man described as Indigenous, in his 40s, between five-foot-six and five-foot-eight and weighing about 270 pounds.
Last October, Krull’s remains were found by a hunter in a remote wooded area outside Winnipeg, about 50 km from where she was last seen. DNA tests confirmed her identity.
Murray said the gold sedan is not believed to be connected to the possible suspect — it was likely just in the area at the time.
Despite the lack of any arrests and the four years that have passed, police remain confident the case can be solved, he said.
“There’s somebody out there that has information that can help us with our investigation,” Murray said.
“Somebody out there will have information regarding this vehicle, and that can be the difference-maker when they provide that information to us.”
