Human remains found during search for missing man

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This article was published 19/07/2021 (1513 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Human remains have been found in Stead while RCMP continue their search for Clifford Joseph, the 40-year-old man whose disappearance in June prompted a weeklong manhunt for Eric Wildman, 34.

RCMP said the remains were located Sunday morning, but have not yet been identified.

Joseph was last seen around 3:30 a.m. on June 7. Police determined his disappearance was suspicious after his abandoned truck was found off Road 44 East later that day.

Wildman was soon named as a person of interest. The two men were neighbours near Stead in the RM of St. Clements.

On June 11, RCMP found Wildman’s vehicle. Inside, police discovered firearms, police tactical clothing and other clothing resembling police-issue gear.

A warrant for Wildman’s arrest was issued for unsafe transportation of a firearm and possession of a prohibited device without a licence, and the weeklong manhunt began.

Sightings of the suspect were reported in Winnipeg and near Whiteshell Provincial Park, before a vehicle matching the description of a Chevy Equinox rented by Wildman from the Winnipeg airport was spotted at a residence outside Belleville, Ont.

Ontario Provincial Police officers were met with gunfire during a standoff at the home on June 18. After crisis negotiations, Wildman and another man in the house surrendered.

Wildman has been charged with two counts of attempted murder and multiple firearms offences for the Ontario incident.

A previous tenant of the property Joseph was renting, Vernon Karl Otto, disappeared in 2018. His truck was found burned, but Otto has never been located.

Police said previously there is no information to indicate the two disappearances are connected.

RCMP did not respond to requests for further information on the human remains discovery.