Burnsville police said Thursday that the human remains found near the Minnesota River in Burnsville on Sunday are those of a 41-year-old woman who had been missing for several months.
Elizabeth Perrault, 41, of Burnsville was reported missing Feb. 22 and her disappearance is the subject of an active investigation, police said. She was last seen on Nov. 1, according to an entry in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons Database.
Burnsville police will be joined by the Hennepin County medical examiner’s office in working to determine the cause and manner of death.
Earlier this week, Dakota County Sheriff Tim Leslie said “some factors” and evidence led investigators to think the death was suspicious and not a drowning.
“Our thoughts go out to the family of this individual,” Burnsville Police Chief Eric Gieseke said in a statement. “Any loss of life is a tragedy, and we are allocating all of the resources necessary in this investigation to determine what happened.”
According to Perrault’s Facebook page, she attended Hastings High School and had two sons and a daughter. A June photo shows her in a hospital bed receiving chemotherapy treatment.
Burnsville police are encouraging anyone with information to call Detective Jeffrey Klingfus at 952-895-4635.