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Piece of denim possibly linked to Fertuck disappearance not further investigated by police: testimony

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SASKATOON -

About four years after Sheree Fertuck went missing, a father-son duo alerted police about a potential new piece of evidence.

RCMP Const. Robert Head, an investigator in the case, took the stand in Greg Fertuck’s murder trial.

Fertuck is charged with first-degree murder in connection to Sheree’s disappearance.

Sheree was last seen on Dec. 7, 2015 leaving her family farm near Kenaston, Sask. to go haul gravel. Sheree’s semi-truck was found abandoned in the gravel pit with her keys, phone and jacket left inside.

Head testified a father and his son, who crushed gravel in the same pit, found a piece of denim in their machine.

“It looked like part of a sleeve,” Head told court.

The fabric was believed to be found in the upper part of the pit — away from the area Sheree’s semi truck was found.

Head testified police determined the material didn’t belong to Sheree, based on its location and witness reports.

But the defence disagreed.

Defence lawyer Mike Nolin suggested Sheree was wearing a denim shirt the day she went missing, based on a description from Sheree’s brother — who saw her that day.

The constable told court the fabric wasn’t sent to a lab or investigated further.

Nolin asked Head how many times cadaver dogs were brought to search the pit.

Head said dogs were brought to the scene once, a few days after Sheree went missing.

On April 14, 2016, shell casings from a .22 calibre rifle were found at the pit.

The casings were sent to a lab to be compared to shell casings seized from Fertuck’s home, to see if they were fired from the same gun.

But there was no conclusive finding from the RCMP Firearms and Toolmark Identification Section.

“The expended cartridge case … was neither identified nor eliminated as having been fired in the same firearm,” the gun lab report read.

On Oct. 6, 2020, police further examined the pit — following a new admission from Fertuck’s girlfriend.

Ground penetrating radar was used and tractors were brought in to search five feet below the surface, Head testified.

After Fertuck told an undercover officer he shot Sheree at the pit, searches ramped up, court heard. 

RCMP Cpl. Ronald Degooijer was the search coordinator, he lead searches based on information Fertuck gave to an undercover officer.

Degooijer testified he and his team looked for bones, black plastic and clothing.

Officers focused on a tree bluff area where Fertuck told undercover officers he dumped Sheree’s body.

Despite the searches, Sheree’s body has never been found.

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