Regina police extend $50K reward offers in 2 cold cases

Regina Police Service will continue to offer rewards in 2017for two cold casesthat have baffled investigatorsfor years.

Police were already offering $50,000 for any information leading to an arrest and conviction in the triple homicide of a refugee family in the city in 2010.

The service was also offering $50,000 for information onthe whereabouts of Tamra Keepness, a five-year-old girl who disappeared from her home in Regina in 2004.

• Officers haunted by unsolved Tamra Keepness disappearance

On Wednesday, the Board of Police Commissioners approved continuing to offerthe rewards in 2017.

Keepness investigation still open

"Our police service just feels that reward is important to keep out there, on the off chance that someone might come forward and give us some information [about Tamra Keepness]that ultimately would lead us to a resolution in this case," Regina police Chief Evan Bray said after the meeting Wednesday morning.

"Because with the passage of time, things can change. And people who maybe do know some information or know something that could help us in this casemight come forward," Bray said.

He said police are continuing to investigate Keepness's disappearanceand officers arekeeping the lines of communication open with her loved ones, adding that police were checking in with her family members as recently as this month.

The police chief said he hopes the continuation of the reward shows the family that finding answers about Keepnessis a priority forhis investigators.

"We hope to someday bring some resolution to them," he said.

Shortly before the 10-year anniversary of Keepness's disappearance in 2014, police doubled the previous reward to $50,000.

• $50K rewards extended in Tamra Keepness case and 2010 triple murder

Triple homicide investigation continues

In the cold case of a family of three refugees from Myanmar, also known as Burma,police will continue offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Bray said the triple homicide ofGray Nay Htoo, his wifeMaw Mawand their childSeven Juneat their home in 2010 had a "significant impact on the community," similar toTamraKeepness'scase.

• 'Who murdered those people?' Regina police ask

"That's the type of crime that we don't see in Regina and we don't want to see in Regina," he said.

The family was part of a small ethnic community of Karen people in the city, many ofwhom also fled to Canada as refugees.

In 2014, police offered a reward of $50,000, hoping to encourage someone to come forward with information about the killings. But so far, no one has collected that money.

• $50K reward offered in Htoo family Regina triple homicide

Police say they hope bothrewards will encourage someone to come forward with relevant information to either case.

The rewards aren't listed in the 2017 police budget, but police say they'll make every effort to make sure they're added in if someone qualifies to claim the reward for information in either case.