Human remains found recently in Caledon, Ont., are those of Poonam Litt, a Brampton woman who vanished in 2009, Peel Regional Police confirmed on Thursday.
Foul play is suspected in the woman's death and police believe someone in the region's South Asian community knows something about her disappearance more than two years ago.
Remains were discovered last February on farmland near Caledon Village, north of Brampton.
OPP Det. Insp. Christine Gilpin said OPP officers combed the lot where the remains were found during their initial search for Litt, but the sweep was called off after two days due to heavy snow.
The remains were left undiscovered until February, when the land owner found the skeleton and contacted police.
Ontario's chief coroner conducted a post-mortem examination following the discovery and determined that the remains belonged to Litt.
Peel Regional Police returned to the field on Thursday to continue a search for evidence.
"The OPP is confident that there is no current threat to public safety," Gilpin told a press conference on Thursday.
Litt was last seen leaving her Brampton home on the morning of Feb. 5, 2009 to walk to her job as a dental office receptionist. She never showed up at work.
Peel Regional Police said at the time that the circumstances behind her disappearance were "disturbing."
Litt left her purse and identification at home on the day she disappeared, police said.
Poonam and her husband Majinder lived with their daughter and Majinder's parents and married sister, who also had two children.
Majinder was in India when his wife went missing and was told just days before her disappearance that she was pregnant with their second child.
Peel Regional Police Inspector George Koekkoek said he had no information about whether Litt was pregnant at the time of her death.
Koekkoek says the investigation into Litt's disappearance "may have slowed, but never stopped," adding that the discovery of her remains will provide important leads that could reinvigorate the investigation.
