Ottawa police believe the same man who killed multiple sex workers may be linked to the unsolved 2008 homicide of an Ottawa mother on city bike path. The body of Pamela Kosmack was found near a bike path close to Britannia Park on June 4, 2008. Facebook

Police alerted Ottawa sex workers Friday that a man might be preying on the city's prostitutes.

In the past 21 years, there have been six sex workers killed on Ottawa streets and police believe the same person killed more than one of them due to similarities in the pattern of violence.

"We've identified the pattern. More than one of the homicides implicates an individual," said Charles Bordeleau, Ottawa's deputy police chief.

Bordeleau would not identify any of the predator's victims, but CBC News confirmed police are examining a possible link to the slaying of Pamela Kosmack.

Kosmack, 39, who was not believed to be a sex worker, was found beaten to death in June 2008 on a bike path near Lincoln Fields transit station. Police recently said they would offer up to $50,000 for information that would help solve the three-year-old homicide of the woman who struggled with addictions.

There are no suspects in the investigation, police said, but recent physical assaults on prostitutes are included in the file.

Charles Bordeleau, Ottawa's deputy police chief, confirmed his department believes the same man is responsible for the death of more than one Ottawa street worker. CBCOfficers have been visiting places where prostitutes often conduct business and they are urging street workers to be careful. That advice may be ignored, though, according to an advocate for sex workers.

"They don't trust police, they fear being criminalized," said Emily Simons, who is with the group POWER, Prostitutes of Ottawa/Gatineau Work, Educate and Resist.

Simons said advice such as working in well-lit areas, working in groups and taking more time to assess clients can make workers more vulnerable to arrest. That is why she wants prostitution sweeps to be postponed during the current investigation.

Bordeleau admitted that is a possibility.