Wednesday, Jun 29, 2011 06:00 am

By: Ryan Tumilty

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Nearly a year after they first went missing, RCMP officers and volunteers conducted another search this week on a rural property looking for clues in the disappearance of Lyle and Marie McCann.

Officers, along with volunteers from the Brazeau Regional Search and Rescue Society, searched a rural property near Lodgepole, about 180 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, this past Sunday.

Sgt. Tim Taniguchi, a spokesperson for the RCMP, said the search was part of the ongoing investigation, but could say little about what led officers to the site.

"The investigation, through the steps that have been conducted in the winter and spring, dictated searching that area," he said. "When we conduct an investigation, it is like puzzle pieces, and the puzzle pieces we have collected indicated to search this area."

The search is the first since last fall in the investigation into the couple’s disappearance. The couple was last seen on July 3, 2010, leaving St. Albert in their motorhome for a vacation in British Columbia.

The burned-out shell of the motorhome was found on July 5 near Edson, and when the couple failed to arrive in B.C. on July 10, they were reported missing.

An SUV they were towing was found a few weeks later and RCMP have identified a suspect in the case, Travis Vader.

The Lodgepole site is some distance from where the SUV and the motorhome were found, but Taniguchi said that was simply where the investigation had taken police.

He said the information was developed earlier, but this was the first opportunity for police to search the area.

Vader remains in custody on unrelated charges, but has not faced any charges in relation to the McCanns’ disappearance.

Taniguchi said the police are still actively investigating the case and 15 investigators remain assigned to the disappearance.

He said they could also still use information from the public about the case.

"Some people may be travelling in the same area that they did last summer and it may bring some memory back to where they were last year."

Anyone with any information, about the case can contact the St. Albert RCMP at 780-458-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

There remains a $60,000 reward for information in the case.