Near the CNR tracks in Cobourg, a gathering place for those down on their luck, the life of 28-year-old Rachel Russell ended violently. Police say she was killed on a well-trodden path along abandoned train tracks east of Ontario Street. On Nov. 12, 2007, a person searching for beer bottles discovered her body. Russell, a Cobourg resident, was last seen alive on Oct. 25, 2007. An autopsy determined blunt force trauma as the cause of death, and detectives concluded she was murdered in late October.
Renewed Investigation and Reward
Now, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are accelerating the cold case investigation in conjunction with their newly released Missing and Unsolved Murdered Indigenous People (MUMIP) report. The Ontario government is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Russell's murder.
Family's Plea for Answers
Russell's sisters told Postmedia in 2017 they believe she was killed by someone she knew. "For such a small area where everyone knows everyone's business, why is it that no one has spoken up?" her sister Shelley said. "I think her friends, that group, knows. I think somebody is just scared of who killed her. But then you're dealing with people with addictions that can't remember one day to the next." She added, "The problem with Rachel is she had a mouth. She was very opinionated, outspoken, and it could have been her mouth that got her into trouble. She could have said something to the wrong person. Rachel always stood by what she believed and never backed down."
Police executed a search warrant at a nearby home, but it yielded no results. Russell's sisters noted that she was addicted to Oxycontin, stemming from cancer treatment. "She wasn't the normal addict," said sister Cindy. "You would never know. I honestly believe if Rachel never had cancer, she never would have ended up where she was." Rachel's appendix ruptured about three years before her death, leading to a cancer diagnosis and subsequent addiction to painkillers. She left a son who is now in his 20s.
The family released a statement: "We're grateful to everyone who's been working hard to bring light to Rachel's case. While our family continues to heal, we're sure the Northumberland community has valuable information that could bring us closure. We hope Rachel's story can bring meaningful change to the systemic harms posed to Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Northumberland OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.
