RCMP identify remains found near Salmon Arm as Enderby woman missing for a decade; foul play not suspected

Sep 21, 2026 | 3:39 PM

SALMON ARM, B.C. — Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP have identified remains found near Salmon Arm last week as belonging to an Enderby woman who was reported missing a decade ago.

Police officials said Deanna Wertz’s remains were found south of Salmon Arm shortly after noon on Sept. 13th, 2026, just over 10 years after she was reported as missing in the Yankee Flats area.

Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP officials said dog trainers made the discovery while they were working in a thick, wooded area in the 2000-block of Yankee Flats Road.

Investigators removed her remains and identified them as those of 46-year-old Deanna Mildred Wertz, who was initially reported as missing on July 22, 2016.

She was among five women from the North Okanagan and Shuswap who went missing over a span of nearly 18 months between 2016 and 2017.

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The remains of four of the five missing women have now been accounted for, including 18-year-old Traci Genereaux, 31-year-old Ashley Simpson, 31-year-old Nicole Bell and now Wertz.

Twenty-seven-year-old Caitlin Potts is still missing, but is suspected to have been murdered.

While foul play was believed to have been involved in the four other womens’ disappearances, RCMP said criminality is not suspected to have been a factor in Wertz’s death.

“This investigation has remained active for many years, and we recognize how difficult this has been for her family and those who knew and loved her,” said Cst. Chris Terleski, Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP media relations officer.

“While this is not the outcome anyone had hoped for, we hope finding Deanna brings some measure of closure and we extend our sincerest condolences to her family.”

Police said no additional information will be released out of respect for the family.

by Elora McCormack

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RCMP identify remains found near Salmon Arm as Enderby woman missing for a decade; foul play not suspected

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