Latest news with #EstherJones
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
RCMP renew search for remains of Esther Jones in Greenwood
RCMP investigators returned to Greenwood, N.S., this week to resume the search for the remains of Esther Jones, a 55-year-old woman who was killed last August. A man has been charged with first-degree murder. But Jones's body has not been located. On Wednesday, RCMP appealed to the public for help, asking anyone who spots anything unusual to come forward. Cpl. Chris Marshall said more people will be out and about with the better weather. "If you're out in the woods, those kinds of things, you see something that looks a little bit weird, especially if you're in this western end of Kings County or over the border into Annapolis County ... give us a call," he said. The appeal has already generated a possible lead. Someone reported an item found near the Annapolis River. Police recovered the item near Bridge Street, between Kingston and Greenwood, but have not confirmed whether it's connected to the case. Jones was last seen alive on August 31, 2024, at Kingston Bible College, where investigators believe she was killed after a struggle. Her vehicle was later found abandoned in Greenwood. Dale Allen Toole, 54, of Tremont, N.S., was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in September 2024 after attempting to flee to Mexico. He remains in custody and is awaiting trial. "The investigation doesn't stop there, " Marshall said on Thursday. "We don't have Esther's remains at this point." Investigators have conducted over 100 interviews, collected video surveillance from more than 50 locations, and searched multiple sites in and around Annapolis County, according to an RCMP news release on Wednesday. Jones's family is grateful for the renewed search although it is a reminder that the trauma of their loss is ongoing. "Victim's families get a life sentence," said niece Esther Uhlman. "We never get to move past this." Jones's sister, Margery Parker, who lives in Alberta, said the family is thankful the community has donated a burial plot in Tremont, where Jones could be laid to rest beside her parents — if she is found. Marshall urged anyone with information, especially those who had contact with Toole between Aug. 31 and Sept. 7, 2024, to come forward.
CTV News
5 days ago
- General
- CTV News
N.S. police search Annapolis River after receiving tip on Esther Jones
Nova Scotia police followed up a tip on a woman who is believed to have been murdered last year. The Southwest Nova RCMP Major Unit conducted a search in connection to the disappearance of Esther Jones in the Annapolis River area on Wednesday. 'After we received this tip about an item that was kind of down in the Annapolis River area, just below Bridge Street, the Annapolis River kind of goes underneath it. Obviously there are little shorelines and those kinds of things so that was the area we were focused on. Just off of Bridge Street down in the riverbank area,' says Cpl. Chris Marshall, acting commander of the Southwest Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit. Over the last few months, police have conducted several searches around Kingston, Greenwood and Morton in the western end of Kings County. They have yet to find the remains of the missing woman. 'We recovered that item. At this point we don't know if it's related. We are obviously still trying to make that determination and if it is related how does it fit into the investigation. We are going to continue doing that going forward as these tips go in, if there is a new site or new location we are going to search,' says Marshall. Fifty-five-year-old Esther Jones was reported missing on Sept. 2, 2024. 'On Sept. 4, 2024, Esther's vehicle was located and given some of the information we had gathered over that 48-hour period, we believed her disappearance may have been suspicious,' says Marshall. Police believe Jones was attacked and murder at the Kingston Bible College on Aug. 31. 'As our investigators continued to gain more information, we determined that a man by the name of Dale Tools was believed to have been the one who murdered Esther. Dale actually left the country on Sept. 11 and on Sept. 12, 2024 he was returned to Canada by U.S customs court order protection and our officers met him at the airport in Toronto to deplane the aircraft and he was arrested at that time,' says Marshall. Tools was charged with first-degree murder and remains in custody. More than 100 people have been interviewed and police have received dozens of tips. Police say these cases can become incredibly complex when they don't have the remains of the victim. 'Not all that work is public facing so we are not always out in the public, but it involved travel to New Brunswick for other interviews that we had to do, it involved travel to Ontario. It involved dealing with our partners in the United States to bring Dale back to Canada. While we may not always be out in the public eye, we are continuing to do our work in the background,' says Marshall. Police are asking the public to report anything that may seem out of place or strange. 'If anybody is out there and sees something a little bit weird, especially if they are in the western part of Kings County that's a little strange. Even some earth that might have been disturbed, those kinds of things, just give us a call. Even if it seems silly or might not be anything significant, sometimes that is all we need to make a big find,' says Marshall. River Police search Annapolis River for Esther Jones's remains on June 4, 2025. (Source: Emma Convey/CTV News Atlantic) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
RCMP conducting new interviews about homicide in Greenwood, N.S.
Esther Jones is pictured in this photo provided by the Nova Scotia RCMP. The RCMP says officers will be in Greenwood, N.S., this week as police continue to investigate the murder of Esther Jones, who was killed in the community last summer. Police are still looking for Jones's remains and say they will be 'conducting further inquiries' in Greenwood over the next several days, so residents can expect to see officers in the area. 'These inquiries are a continuation of the investigational efforts,' said the RCMP in a news release Wednesday. 'To date, investigators have formally interviewed more than 100 people, obtained video surveillance from more than 50 businesses and homes, and searched multiple locations looking for Esther's remains.' The 55-year-old Jones was last seen alive at the Kingston Bible College in Kingston, N.S., on Aug. 31 and reported missing to police on Sept. 2. Police found the woman's vehicle – a silver 2009 Volkswagen Passat – abandoned in Greenwood, N.S., on Sept. 4. The Southwest Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit took over the investigation at that time. Man charged with murder in September Dale Allen Toole, 54, of Tremont, N.S., was charged on Sept. 11, 2024 with first-degree murder. Police believe Jones and Toole got into a struggle at the bible college on Aug. 31 and Jones was killed at that location that afternoon. As for their relationship, police previously said Toole and Jones were not related by blood, but they did have family members in common, and lived in the same area. Toole found in Texas Police said during a news conference in September that Toole had fled the country and the RCMP worked with authorities in the U.S. and Mexico to track his movement. He was eventually found at the airport in Houston, Texas where he was detained, and deported back to Canada. Investigators believe Toole had been headed for Mexico before being detained in was arrested after he landed in Toronto and escorted back to Nova Scotia, where he remains in custody. The Southwest Nova Major Crime Unit is asking anyone with information to contact investigators at (902) 365-3120 or Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222- TIPS (8477) or online at For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Global News
6 days ago
- General
- Global News
N.S. police continue investigation into Esther Jones homicide, remains never found
RCMP's major crime unit will be back in the community of Greenwood, N.S., this week to speak to people and conduct interviews as they continue to search for remains in the homicide of Esther Jones. Police said they've interviewed more than 100 people and obtained video surveillance from more than 50 businesses and homes. Despite all this and searching multiple locations, they have not found her remains. 'As the investigation continues, officers will be conducting further inquiries in Greenwood over the next several days; residents can expect to see police in the area,' RCMP said Wednesday. Jones, 55, was reported missing from Torbrook, N.S., in Annapolis County, on Sept. 2, 2024 and was last seen at the Kingston Bible College in Greenwood two days earlier. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy RCMP have said they believe the homicide took place at that school, and included 'a struggle.' Story continues below advertisement On Sept. 13, 2024, RCMP revealed that their investigation into Jones' disappearance had identified enough information to charge Dale Allen Toole, 54. At the time, RCMP said Toole had been detained by U.S. authorities while trying to board a plane to Mexico and was ultimately extradited back to Canada. He has since been charged with first-degree murder and remains in custody. 1:50 Missing Nova Scotia woman was killed, man facing first-degree murder charge: RCMP At his first court appearance last September, more than a dozen of Jones' family members made their way to the Kentville, N.S., courtroom in a show of solidarity. Esther Uhlman, who was named after her aunt Esther, called the whole ordeal 'a shock.' 'You never expect to have your family deal with a murder, especially that close. When it's the murder of someone you know, it's very, very devastating,' she said at the time. Story continues below advertisement Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at (902) 365-3120 or Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222- TIPS (8477).
