Saskatchewan police charged with investigating unsolved cases are reluctant to appeal for psychic intervention when leads run dry, according to a Saskatoon psychic.

Barb Powell, a psychic medium, said she rarely is approached by local police to help in ongoing cold case investigations, but does get criminal case work from some southern U.S. states.

Powell told CBC News she feels her work is only one investigative tool available to help cases along, not to solve them.

"You know, I'd like to think that some of the information that comes through to me obviously helps or at least gives a detective, or police ... just that extra nudge if you will, to put two and two together and hopefully come up with a full picture," Powell said.

Sgt. Brent Shannon, a cold case investigator for the Regina Police Service, acknowledged that in some historical cases any information is considered important.

Information coming from non-traditional means such as psychics is often not specific enough to be useful to police, Shannon said.

One example would be the investigation into the still-unsolved disappearance of five-year-old Tamra Keepness, who went missing from her Regina home in 2004.

Shannon said many aboriginal elders came forward to police with dreams and visions in the hope of helping investigators find her.

Shannon said while the efforts were well-intentioned, the information provided was too vague.

Families take alternate steps

Families of cold case subjects seem more willing to take a chance on alternative methods of investigation like those offered by Powell.

Powell said a few families in Saskatchewan have contacted her for help, but she said she's learned the work is so draining that she's become cautious about what cases she takes on.

"There are some families that do come to me and I just have to say, 'I can’t help you because the emotions are so, so strong,' " Powell said.

"Which is why I would rather work more so with police or detectives because they too … are not necessarily emotionally attached to the situation," she said.