Pig cadavers to be placed in Bow River as part of Calgary police research
Posted May 25, 2026 5:10 pm.
Pig cadavers will be placed in the Bow River as part of a new study aimed at improving how search teams locate human remains in Calgary’s waterways.
Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Windsor will be working with the Calgary Police Service in the coming weeks to better understand how bodies move underwater.
The team is placing pig cadavers fitted with GPS devices into the river to track depth, temperature, and distance travelled. Pig cadavers are widely used in forensic research as a stand‑in for human remains.
Researchers will monitor the cadavers remotely until they float, at which point trained staff will carry out a controlled recovery. The data will be used to build predictive models showing where and when human remains are most likely to surface.
“This research will give us data we simply don’t have right now,” says Dr. Iain Phillips, adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan. “By understanding how remains behave in the Bow River…we can develop evidence-based models that improve recovery efforts.”
“Ultimately, this work is about helping investigators find answers sooner and bringing closure to families.”
Earlier phases of the project in Saskatchewan have already helped investigators recover remains in a homicide case.
Members of the public are being asked not to disturb any research equipment they may find along the Bow River in the next few weeks.
