Top stories of the week: Self-checkout thefts, DNA used to identify Franklin expedition remains, and 1963 disappearance of toddler

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Anthropologists identify four more men who died on the Franklin Expedition

How did a toddler mysteriously go missing from a Brantford, Ont. neighbourhood?

What happens next at Conestoga College?

Fraud charges for man who scanned cheaper items at checkout

Guelph police have arrested a man who they say swapped out expensive products for cheaper ones at self-checkouts.

On Feb. 7, the man allegedly targeted four businesses within a one-hour period.

Police said he would take cases of baby formula, which were priced at $97, and then head to the self-checkout.

Instead of scanning the bar code on the baby formula, the man allegedly swapped them out for items less than $1.

Police said the stores lost nearly $1,000 in products.

A 24-year-old from Brampton was arrested on May 1 and charged with seven counts of fraud under $5,000.

Four sailors from doomed Franklin expedition identified through DNA

Researchers at the University of Waterloo (UW) have identified the remains of four more crew members of Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated expedition to find the Northwest Passage.

On May 19, 1845, HMS Erebus and HMS Terror left England in search of a route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It was later determined that they wintered on Beechey Island, in what is now Nunavut, between 1845 and 1846. Then, the following September, the ships got trapped in the ice near King William Island.

They spent two winters there before 105 survivors walked away from the ships in search of help. Remains of the crew were later found on King William Island and Adelaide Peninsula. The wreck of the Erebus was discovered in September 2014, followed by the Terror in September 2016.

Anthropologists from UW have been working to identify those remains.

On May 6, they announced four more matches had been made. They said DNA samples had been extracted from skeletal remains and matched with living descendants.

“Three of the sailors we have identified are from HMS Erebus, and they all died at Erebus Bay,” Dr. Douglas Stenton, an adjunct assistant professor in UW’s department of anthropology, said in a media release. “The fourth, the only sailor from HMS Terror to be definitively identified by DNA analysis, was found 130 kilometres away.”

He was determined to be Harry Peglar, a 21-year-old captain of the foretop, who was responsible for rigging and sails on the ship.

“We did get a [DNA] match that turned out to be the great-great-granddaughter of Harry Pegler’s sister. In fact, it’s a perfect match. So, we were able to confirm that after about 167 years that it was, in fact, Harry Pegler.” Stenton

Peglar’s identity has long been the subject of debate. His papers were found on a body in 1859, including his seaman’s certificate, poetry and descriptions of the expedition. There was confusion, however, because the clothing did not match Peglar’s rank.

“He was a petty officer and yet, when his skeleton, his body, was found in 1859, he was dressed as a steward or an officer’s servant, which is a position and a rating, if you will, that Pegler has never held,” Stenton explained.

“It was interesting to conclusively identify this sailor because the body was found with almost the only written documents from the expedition ever found,” explained Dr. Robert Park, Stenton’s co-researchers and anthropology professor at UW.

Not only has that 166-year-old mystery been solved, but three other crew members have also been identified. William Orren was ranked an able seaman, David Young was listed as a Boy 1st Class, and John Bridgens, a subordinate officers’ steward.

“Their identification confirms that the three were among the crew who survived the first three years of the expedition and attempted to escape the Arctic,” UW’s release said.

Rich Preston, a journalist with BBC News, was identified as one of the descendants of Bridgens.

He said Canadian researchers got in contact with his mother and asked for family DNA samples.

“And I thought, yeah, sure. Why not? In the name of science, it’s just a swab of my cheek. It doesn’t bother me too much. I got a package in the mail, did a little cheek swab, posted it back to Canada. And honestly, I thought that is the last I will hear of this,” Preston recalled.

Approximately a year later, he received a message from the researchers.

“It was such a huge surprise to hear from the team that my DNA was a match with one of the sailors on the doomed Franklin expedition,” he said. “I used to work on a genealogy show for the BBC that traced people’s fascinating family stories, and so to discover that there’s such an interesting tale in my own family’s past feels very exciting.”

Six crew members of the Erebus have now been identified using DNA. The first was Engineer John Gregory in 2021, while confirmation of Captain James Fitzjames’ remains happened in 2024. His were the only bones that showed signs of cannibalism.

The anthropologists worked with Stephen Fratpietro from Lakehead University to extract and compare the mitochondrial and Y-chromosome DNA. Descendants are also being encouraged to contact the team to see if their DNA can help with identification.

“Our genetic work is opening a new chapter in the story of the Franklin expedition and the things that we might hope to learn from it,” Stenton said. “I think it’s quite appropriate that that chapter is helping to be written by the families of the men who never made it home.”

Police looking for tips in Waterloo and Cambridge thefts

Waterloo Regional Police are hoping the public can help with a theft investigation at stores in Cambridge and Waterloo.

They said on six separate occasions between April 23 and May 1, two female “shoppers” stole cosmetics from unnamed pharmacies. Each incident happened in the evening.

The value of the products they allegedly took is estimated at more than $13,000.

Police released images from the store’s security cameras on May 7 and asked the public for help identify the people pictured.

Anyone who has information is asked to contact Waterloo Regional Police Service at 519‑570‑9777.

How did a toddler disappear from a Brantford street in 1963?

Decades after a toddler inexplicably disappeared from a street in Brantford, Ont., investigators are once again revisiting the case.

Three-year-old Jimmy Paige was last seen riding his bike with his older brother and a friend on Spring Street on March 23, 1963.

The trio had been circling the block when suddenly Jimmy was nowhere to be found.

“We would go around the block, three of us on our bike, just normal, everyday kind of occurrence for us,” Jimmy’s older brother Michael Paige recalled. “We went around maybe twice, turned around and no Jim.”

Michael was five-years-old when he last saw his brother.

“We went around backwards, forwards, then I ran back home and said to mom, ‘I can’t find Jim.’ Everything went crazy after that.

In the days that followed, more than 200 people joined the search effort, combing through the neighbourhood and surrounding areas.

No one ever discovered what happened to Jimmy, however another child was found playing with his toy tractor.

“It’s just tough. We ran around looking for him. We could not find him. It’s just very frustrating,” Michael said.

At the time, police considered the possibility that the toddler had wandered into the nearby Grand River.

“I personally can’t see how a three-year-old is going to make four blocks by himself. He never knew how to cross the street to begin with,” Michael said.

“I still don’t buy that story, because if he was in the river, the river always gives up its dead. Always.”

Sixty-three years have passed, but the uncertainty and pain remains.

The family still hopes someone may have information about what happened to Jimmy.

“Somebody knows something. At least, I’m hoping somebody knows something,” Michael said.

The Brantford Police Service’s major crime unit is reviewing the case with help from the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains.

As part of the renewed investigation, family members have submitted DNA to a national database in hopes of identifying potential matches.

“As this is an active ongoing investigation, we can’t speak about this specific case,” a spokesperson with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in an email statement to CTV News. ”We can only speak in general terms about the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains (NCMPUR)’s role which includes the National Missing Persons DNA Program (NMPDP). The RCMP can confirm that the NCMPUR is presently assisting with this investigation through the NMPDP.”

Administrator appointed to Conestoga College after audit uncovers ‘egregious financial decisions’

The Ontario government is stepping in after an audit uncovered concerns about significant financial misuse and governance failings at Conestoga College.

The school’s board of governors has been relieved of their duties and the province has named Linda Franklin as administrator for Conestoga College, effective immediately.

Franklin previously served as the president and CEO of Colleges Ontario, an association that represents Ontario’s 24 public colleges.

“This action is necessary following an extensive audit, during which the government discovered numerous egregious financial decisions which lacked appropriate oversight by members of the college’s Board,” a news release from the provincial government said.

Franklin is expected to work with the college’s interim president, Norma McDonald Ewing, and other members of the leadership team.

After the announcement on May 7, Nolan Quinn, Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security, said there is no set timeline for how long Franklin will be working at Conestoga College, but she will be making $1,600 per day.

“If you look at what the previous president’s salary was at over $600,000 dollars and the egregious fiscal management of the institution, we need to ensure we have the right administrator in there to bring back good governance to the board as well as fiscal management to the institution itself,” Quinn said when asked about Franklin’s compensation.

The minister confirmed police are not involved in the situation at Conestoga College and said no other audits are underway at other post-secondary institutions.

Some of the concerns specifically cited by the provincial government include the board’s decision to approve a 55 per cent salary increase in 2024 for the college’s former president, John Tibbits, as well as Tibbits’ termination payment that added up to 83 times the president’s monthly salary.

“A 55 per cent increase in [Tibbits’] take home salary year-over-year from 2024 to 2025 is egregious. Over $630,000 annually. And then that triggered an audit,” Quinn explained.

The audit launched in June 2025 and the findings were released within the last few weeks.

Tibbits stepped down as the college’s president in January 2026. In the preceding years, he made headlines after he called the president of Sault College, David Orazietti, a “whore” in response to the claims that Conestoga College was one of the “bad actors” that resulted in a reduction of international student permits.

According to the Sunshine List, Tibbits was Waterloo Region’s highest-paid public sector worker in 2024 after he pulled in a salary of $636,107.

The audit also found three senior leaders took a $23,000 trip to Italy where the school paid for “business class airfare, luxury accommodations and premium transportation.”

Other similar trips were also taken, but the province did not include further details on those excursions.

Regular operations will continue at Conestoga College and students are not expected to see any interruptions in their studies.

In the meantime, Franklin will act in place of the board of governors and develop a plan to restore strong fiscal management and governance.

CTV News Kitchener obtained a copy of an email sent to Conestoga College students and staff on May 7.

The email, signed by McDonald Ewing, confirmed that an administrator had been appointed.

“This decision follows a Ministry-led audit that raised serious concerns about the Board’s ability to ensure strong governance, fiscal accountability and a sustainable future that is focused on student success at Conestoga College,” the email said, in part.

“I want to reassure our entire community that Conestoga’s day‑to‑day operations will continue as normal. Students, faculty, and staff should expect no disruption to programs, services, or supports," the email continued.