Bridging the Gaps: Collaboration, Innovation, and Identification
The 2026 International Missing Persons & Unidentified Remains Conference is honored to welcome an outstanding panel of speakers whose expertise and dedication are advancing the fields of missing persons investigations and human identification. Representing diverse disciplines, our presenters will share innovative research, emerging practices, and real-world experiences that foster collaboration, inspire progress, and strengthen our collective commitment to bringing answers to families and restoring identities.
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Dr. Lorna Ferguson |
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"Considerations for the Cold Case Investigator" Ken Bilboe, Highlands Tracking Search and Rescue |
Police Officer - York Regional Police – 1987 to 1991 Police Officer - York Regional Police – 2006 to 2026 Search And Rescue Tech/Team Leader – 2006 to 2014 Search And Rescue Trainer – 2012 to 2026 Certified Human Tracker – 2015 to Present Highlands Tracking Research Project – 2018 - Present Highlands Tracking Search And Rescue 2021 – Present (Non-Profit) Deemed a Human Tracking expert by YRP Chief Jim MacSween since 2022
About the Topic: The intent will be to encourage attendees to share perspectives and consider the adoption of a new investigative filter to support future cold case investigations. |
| Antonio Miguel Cruz & Dr. Lili Liu |
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Dr. Lili Liu is dean of the Faculty of Health, and professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. She advances health-care technology through her leadership roles in research, administration, service and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, and post-docs. Her research program examines acceptance and adoption of technologies by older adults, their care partners, health care professionals, and unlicensed care personnel. Liu’s current research program examines the applications of technologies and other innovations to mitigate risks of going missing among persons living with dementia. Her team engages with community organizations and focuses on approaches to inform and implement policies that create safe environments for older adults.
About the Session: Persons living with dementia are at risk of going missing, and police invest significant time and resources responding to missing incidents. During the presentation, the presenters will:
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| Rachel Oefelein |
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"A Family Perspective of Missing Persons" Maureen Trask |
Maureen Trask is a Canadian advocate for missing persons and the families impacted. A retired IT professional, she holds a BA in Psychology from Wilfrid Laurier University and volunteers as a Peer Support Facilitator with CMHA Waterloo‑Wellington, Canada and the Fowler‑O’Sullivan Foundation, USA for families of missing hikers. The disappearance of her son, Daniel, shapes her work with families, police, researchers, policymakers, and agencies. As a change agent at heart, she championed Ontario’s Missing Persons Act and continues to advocate for a national Missing Persons Framework across Canada. About the Session: This presentation explores how lived experience of families can illuminate gaps in the field of missing persons. In addition to sharing her story of Daniel, Maureen will speak to key components of missing persons: Respond, Support, Protect, and Prevent. The presentation will be from a family perspective to enlighten and reflect on the importance, improvements, and impacts of missing persons. The landscape of Missing Persons is changing, with exciting possibilities by opening the door to family engagement. |
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Serial Offenders and Missing Persons: Myths vs. Reality Dr. Sasha Reid, PhD, JD |
 Dr. Sasha Reid, PhD, JDBarrister & Solicitor | Law Society of Alberta Director, National Cold Case Initiative |
| Amanda Pick |
 Amanda PickChief Executive Officer Missing Children Society of Canada |
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Forensic Genealogy and Human Identification David Mittelman |
 David Mittelman, PhDCihef Executive Officer OTHRAM |
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FILU Panel Session Tanya Debassigne, Ministry of the Attorney General SPC Paul Barry, Investigator, FILU |
Dr. Dirk Huyer was appointed Chief Coroner for Ontario in March 2014. Dr. Huyer received his medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1986. He has served as a coroner in Ontario since 1992 and most recently served as Regional Supervising Coroner for the Regions of Peel and Halton, as well as the Counties of Simcoe and Wellington. He has been involved in over 5,000 coroner’s investigations. Dr. Huyer has specific expertise in the medical evaluation of child maltreatment and has worked with the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Program at the Hospital for Sick Children. Dr. Huyer is the Chair of both the Deaths Under Five and Pediatric Death Review committees of the Office of the Chief Coroner. He is also an Assistant Professor with the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto.
SPC Paul Barry |
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Emergency Management and Public Order, Toronto Police Service Sergeant Darren MA and Team (High Risk Search Management) |
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| Alzheimer Society of Toronto |
Dr. Lorna Ferguson is an award-winning criminologist and professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Regina. She is also the Founder of the Missing Persons Research Hub, a North America-wide initiative advancing research, policy, and practice on missing persons. Her work focuses on policing, missing persons, and search and rescue, with an emphasis on improving investigative responses, interagency coordination, and prevention. Dr. Ferguson has published extensively, authored multiple books, and collaborates with police services and public safety organizations across Canada to translate research into practice.
University of Alberta, Canada. Antonio Miguel Cruz is an Associate Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Alberta, and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Health Sciences, University of Waterloo. He leads the PEAR Lab, focusing on how digital health interventions and health data can enhance the health and well-being of older adults. 
Rachel Oefelein is currently the Chief Scientific Officer at DNA Labs International (DLI) and Laboratory Director. She received her MSc in Forensic Science from the University of Strathclyde, her BS in Criminal Justice, with a Forensic Science Minor, from Loyola University of New Orleans, and her PhD from Griffith University. Previous employment included the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) for nearly five years and an internship at the Instytut Ekspertyz Sądowych, the Forensic Laboratory in Krakow, Poland. Rachel has testified in fourteen Florida counties, nine states and U.S. Territories, and six countries as an expert witness for both the prosecution and the defense in misdemeanor and felony trials, as well as William, Frye, Daubert, and Arthur hearings. Since joining DNA Labs International in 2014, Rachel was instrumental in implementing STRmix™ for five profiling systems, rootless hair shaft testing, and Next Generation Sequencing in three profiling systems. She also innovated and implemented DLI’s successful SpentShell™ technology for fired cartridge casings.
Tanya Debassigne