The owner of a property police say is linked to the disappearance of a woman who vanished along B.C.'s Highway of Tears says she's disturbed by the investigation.
"Nothing like this has happened before," Robin Tomah said. "It's startling if it involves a death."
For four days, police searched Tomah's five-acre wooded property near Prince George for the remains of Nicole Hoar, a hitchhiker who vanished nearby in 2002 -- one of 18 women who have gone missing or been murdered along Highway 16 since 1969.
Tomah, who has only owned the land for two years, isn't a suspect in the disappearance. She never saw anything suspicious and never met the man who previously owned the property, Leland Switzer. He killed his brother two days after Hoar disappeared, and is serving a life sentence in prison.
"It really is sad that such a thing would be going on," Tomah said.
Police left the property late Sunday, leaving behind filled-in holes behind the home and in a stand of trees towards the back of the property.
The publicity around the search of this property generated over 100 tips for the RCMP, but police aren't saying whether any of the evidence they gathered was even useful.
Ray Michalko, a private investigator who has been working on the case, says as the police wrapped up they didn't appear to call in a coroner or even take pictures of evidence.
"The police have talked forever about how hard they're working but the first time we get to see some evidence and were excited, they leave us hanging," he said.
Tomah says police haven't told her much either. But she says she believes this is the beginning of the end of this case.
"This is a catalyst," she said. "Eventually police will discover the perpetrator and that part of the mystery will be over."
The evidence collected from the property is now being analyzed in Vancouver labs.
Hoar, who was from Red Deer, Alta., vanished while hitchhiking along Highway 16 near Prince George. She had been travelling to Smithers, B.C., to visit her sister.
"We are supportive of the police investigation and hoping it may further their investigation into the case of our missing daughter," the Hoar family said in a statement released Friday afternoon. "Our thoughts continue to be with Nicole."
"Nicole is just one of many missing persons in that area and our thoughts continue to be with their families as well."
Since 1969, 18 women have gone missing along the 800-kilometre stretch of road that connects Prince George to Prince Rupert, B.C. It has become known as the Highway of Tears.
Families of the missing women have asked for a public inquiry into the unsolved cases. In 2006, the RCMP launched a special investigation into the disappearances.
Prince George is the largest city in Northern B.C. It's located about 800 kilometres north of Vancouver.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Jon Woodward and files from The Canadian Press
