Attention focused on young girl who has been missing for seven years

A time-limited cash reward for information leading to the whereabouts of now 11-year-old Tamra Keepness has expired. But the added incentive resulted in some movement.

“Some tips have come in, but I don’t know exactly what they are,” said Bob Moseley, primary investigator with Missing Children Society of Canada. Tips are going directly to Sgt. Brent Shannon, who is heading up the investigation for the Regina Police Cold Case files.

The MCSC offered $10,000 on the July 5, which marked the seven-year anniversary of Tamra’s disappearance. The money, available for a month, was on top of the $25,000 reward currently being offered by the Regina Board of Police Commissioners.

Tamra was last seen at her Regina home at approximately 11 p.m. on Monday, July 5, 2004. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a light blue, striped halter top with pink accents and light blue jeans. She was reported missing by her mother 13 hours later on July 6.

Moseley said MCSC hoped the additional money would stir up some memories or bring people forward after seven years of silence.

“(The case) seemed fairly quiet without any tips coming in and we wanted it to regenerate some interest in the case with the public,” he said.

Moseley noted that when Tamra went missing, MCSC did a parallel investigation along with the Regina police department. He has a “full file” on the Keepness disappearance, but most of the file is classified because it is an active case.

Although the timeline to collect the $10,000 reward has expired that doesn’t mean the interest in finding Tamra has waned.

“We know that someone out there holds a key piece of information that would bring this case to a close,” said Wendy Christensen, manager of the investigation unit at MCSC, in a media release. “It has been over seven years now since (Keepness) disappeared, but it’s never too late to do the right thing for her. The sizable reward aside, we know that doing the right thing is what will be most meaningful to whoever can help us find (her).”

Since 1986, MCSC has been working to reunite missing children with their families through professional investigations, public awareness and family support programs.

MCSC’s team consists of former police detectives and trained investigators who work closely with law enforcement while conducting frontline, hands-on investigative and search activities.

“I didn’t know Tamra,” said Moseley, a retired detective who served 27 years with the Calgary City Police. He started working with MCSC in December 2010. “But I don’t have to know somebody to be deeply concerned about it. You do want every outcome to come to a successful and good conclusion.”

Anyone with information can contact MCSC confidentially through their 24-hour toll-free TIP line at 1-800-661-6160 or by email at tips@mcsc.ca. Moseley can be contacted directly at 403-291-0705 ext. 226. The public can also contact Sgt. Brent Shannon with the Regina Police at 306-777-6453.