Two Nipigon residents, a father, and a son, are charged in the death of Alyssa Turnbull who went missing and her remains were found after more than three years. Details explored.
Alyssa Turnbull, 26, was last seen in the Nipigon area on March 23, 2020. More than three years later, police say her remains have been recovered in a remote area of Kaministiquia, west of Kakabeka Falls in northwestern Ontario.
Brian Soos, 61, and Nick Soos, 28, who are father and son, are charged with committing indignity to a body and obstructing justice.
Here’s everything we know about Alyssa Turnbull’s cause of death, what happened to her, parents, family, murderers, and more.
Who was Alyssa Turnbull?
Alyssa Turnbull was a 26-year-old woman originally from South Gillies.
She was a victim of abduction and was later declared murdered.
She was last seen in Nipigon, where she was residing, between March 23 and 25, 2020. She was 26 at the time.
Turnbull is described as standing five-foot-three, weighing about 100 pounds, with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. She often changed her hair color to purple or red.
What happened to Alyssa Turnbull?
Police have recovered the remains of Alyssa Turnbull, a woman who has been missing since 2020.
Her body was found in a remote area of northwestern Ontario, Canada, on October 25, police said on Wednesday.
Turnbull was last seen in March 2020 and was reported missing by her family the following month.
The circumstances of her disappearance and death are considered suspicious but police have not given any more details.
“Her remains were located October 25 in a remote area of Kaministiquia, which is located west of Kakabeka Falls,” Ontario Provincial Police said Wednesday.
“The circumstances surrounding Alyssa’s disappearance and death are confirmed to be suspicious.”
Who has been arrested in Alyssa Turnbull’s death?
Two men, Brian Soos, 61, and Nick Soos, 28, have been charged with two counts of committing an indignity to a body and obstruction of justice.
The duo is a father and son.
They are expected to be in court on Friday.
“I want to express condolences to Alyssa’s family and the community,” said OPP Supt. Darryl Sigouin.
“While this is not a happy ending, her family has some measure of resolution and can now give this young woman the funeral and burial she deserves.”
The investigation into her death is still ongoing, said police.
In the three years since her disappearance, police have conducted massive searches and offered a $50,000 reward.
Who are Alyssa Turnbull’s parents?
The late Alyssa Turnbull was born to Kevin Turnbull (father) and Debra Otway (mother).
Her mom set up a GoFundMe page in 2021 to fund searches in the Nipigon and Thunder Bay areas.
In an interview in 2022, her parents Debra Otway and Kevin Turnbull said they’re still grieving.
“Life without Alyssa has been unbearable,” said Otway. “The days have turned into weeks, into months, and now years – two years without her. She’s deeply missed by her family, her friends, her siblings.”
“She deserves to live, laugh, grow, have fun, sing, dance with her friends, watch her siblings grow up – just live life.”
Otway and Turnbull renewed their appeal for anyone with information about their daughter’s disappearance to come forward, saying the lack of closure continues to take a toll on the family.
“We’re plagued with worry, unanswered questions,” said Otway. “It’s very hard to move forward in our lives without her, and not knowing where she is, it’s truly a parent’s absolute worst nightmare that we live every day.”
“We’re just pleading with anybody, somebody to please come forward and tell us something. We just want to bring her home and find some peace in our lives, if that’s even possible anymore.”
What has the family said about Alyssa Turnbull’s death?
Her mother, Debra Otway, said in 2021 that the whole ordeal has been a nightmare for the family.
“Every time the season changes, it’s another season without her,” Otway told TBT News.
“It’s been a year now since the last time I spoke to my daughter. It’s been awful for the whole family.”
Otway said she last spoke to her daughter through a text message about the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, when the messages stopped going through, Otway said she got worried.
“I got her younger brother and sister to start texting her because if she is not going to talk to me she is definitely going to talk to them and she wasn’t answering them,” she said.
Otway said she received a call from a friend in Nipigon where Turnbull was living before she disappeared.
“He had called me and said something is wrong,” she said, adding that she called police to report her daughter missing.
At the time she said she tried to remain hopeful that Turnbull would be found and wouldn’t think of the alternative.
“I still have two young children to raise here and I will probably lose my mind if I do think about that so I just focus on my friends and family that have been really supportive and awesome,” she said.