Human remains of a known community member who went missing last winter were found. Johnny Kootenay was discovered near his home in Morley, according to a relative, Trina Kootenay. RCMP said they could not comment on the case at this time but plan to in the future. He was last seen by his family on Dec. 11, 2017. Cochrane RCMP put out a missing persons release to the public with a request for tips on Dec. 22 and again in the new year, on Jan 25. Johnny was last seen walking on Highway 1A between Morley and Cochrane and RCMP said he was known to frequently pan handle in and around the Cochrane area. "Johnny's not in any trouble, we just need to speak with him and confirm that he is OK," said Cst. Kary Moore, in a January press release issued by the Cochrane RCMP. "Living a transient lifestyle can be tough in Alberta especially during the winter months, we will continue to look for Johnny until either we, the RCMP, speak with him, or until he reaches out to someone in his family." Those who knew him said he was also known to hitch-hike between Canmore and Calgary. Cochrane RCMP said they could not comment on the case at this time but will release more at a later date. Trina Kootenay, who was born and raised in Calgary but has family living in Morley, said she remembers her cousin as friendly and generous. "He's always been very welcoming, always friendly always made me feel like I was part of the Kootenay family, that I was his cousin," Trina said. "He's always been very generous; he's the type of person who would share his last dollar with a person, or put on his last pot of coffee and share his last meal with somebody." "One thing I noticed about Johnny is he always truly had pride in the house he was given in Morley. He truly took care of that home." Trina, who has known Johnny her whole life, said that there was a significant age gap between Johnny (56) and herself (35) but she became closer to him when she was an adult and when she lived in Cochrane for five years. "He used to always have his artwork too that he would sell. He was into making native shields and dream catchers and that type of stuff too. I've always enjoyed his artistic side," she said. Johnny also built a relationship with many shop owners in Cochrane, Trina added. "A lot of shop owners when I first shared his missing poster back in January ... said that they would keep an eye out for him, that they would look for him," she said. Though police have not confirmed the manner of Johnny Kootenay's death, Trina said she believes it was suspicious considering he was found near his home all these months later. "It's very disturbing that this is how his life ended."
