Police will solve Tamra case, chief says

As the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Tamra Keepness approaches, Regina police say they're confident they'll find out what happened to the little girl they just can't say when.

Regina Police Chief Cal Johnston said the police service has "fresh eyes" examining the disappearance of the child and will continue to investigate as long as there are leads to explore.

Keepness was last seen in her home on the 1800 block of Ottawa St. on July 5, 2004.

Her disappearance from the house in a gritty inner city neighbourhood sparked the largest search in Regina police history.

It was a case that touched the hearts of people around the city and the country.

Police and volunteers combed the city and area, but couldn't find anything that gave them the answers they were looking for.

Johnston says investigators have interviewed hundreds of people and pursued over 1,000 tips but they still don't know what became of the girl, who was five when she disappeared.

The only possible explanation is foul play, he said.

Johnson said a team of six officers is dedicated full-time to the case. They're poring through everything police have done to date to see if anything was missed or needs further examination.

Johnston said new leads continue to come in.

"We continue to get information on a weekly, sometimes daily, basis," he said. "It's in the minds of this community and hasn't left the minds of people in this community."

Earlier in the investigation, some members of Tamra's family expressed concerns that police were spending too much time concentrating on them, instead of looking for Tamra.

Johnston said police are still not happy with what they've been told about the night Tamra went missing.

He says solving the case is simply a matter of time. Eventually, he said, a key piece of information will surface.

"It will come," he said. "We are confident we will have answers to this."

Johnston said if there is no break in the case by year's end, they'll likely hand the file over to an outside police force to have yet another set of "fresh eyes" review the work.