The RCMP has rolled out a new national website featuring unsolved missing persons cases and instances of unidentified human remains.

The site, Canada's Missing, was launched Thursday by the RCMP’s National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains.

RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson said the site brings together information that was previously public, but not kept together in one central place.

“Canadasmissing.ca provides law enforcement, medical examiners and chief coroners with a powerful tool in resolving missing persons and unidentified remains cases and gives the public an easy-to-use access point to ensure that relevant information is received by investigators,” Paulson said in a written statement.

CanadasMissing.ca also has reconstruction images and sketches for some of its 157 records of cases of unidentified remains.CanadasMissing.ca also has reconstruction images and sketches for some of its 157 records of cases of unidentified remains. (CanadasMissing.ca)

Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety, said the tool could increase public participation in locating missing people and identifying human remains.

"This website gives the public a chance to make a difference in finding some of Canada's missing. Each person who takes the time to visit canadasmissing.ca could help bring a loved one home to their family," Toews said, also in a written statement.

The RCMP says that no matter how old an investigation is, or how insignificant a piece of information may seem, one tip from one person could be the key to solving a case.

Site incomplete

The database behind the website is not complete and only represents a sampling of cases from across Canada, with just 715 entries.

On Thursday, a search for cases of unidentified remains returns 105 results for Ontario, 45 results for B.C., four for Saskatchewan, and one case each for Quebec, Manitoba, and New Brunswick.

Out of 540 entries for missing children and adults, 40 records are for B.C. residents who went missing — those records include Michael Dunahee, Matthew Huszar, and a number of women who are thought to have gone missing along northern B.C.'s Highway of Tears.

The database also contains information on 18 people who are related to a missing person's case, either by association or family relationship.

The RCMP says the case information on canadasmissing.ca comes from police officers, medical examiners and chief coroners and cases are added by request of primary investigators.