Police search Muonio wilderness for missing woman’s remains

Police are searching the wilderness in Muonio for the remains of Helsinki resident Katja Miinalainen, who disappeared four years ago, Yle reports. Investigators suspect she was killed by Mika Moring, who has been described as a serial predator.

Police believe only remains, possibly bones or clothing, may still be found. They have asked people who move around the region to report sightings of clothing or bones in the wilderness.

The search area covers difficult terrain between the villages of Muotkavaara and Tiurajärvi, crossed by Äkäslompolontie. Searches have also been carried out east of the area along Levikairantie.

The area includes lakes, small rivers, steep terrain and extensive marshland. Divers have searched near a bridge over a river along Aakenuksentie, the road connecting the municipalities of Kittilä and Muonio.

Local resident Anna-Leena Nordberg lives within the police search area and says she learned about the operation this summer when police appealed to local people for information.

“It feels extremely distressing. I lost sleep when I heard about it,” Nordberg said.

Nordberg walks in the surrounding wilderness every day with her dog, Savu. She said Miinalainen’s disappearance is often on her mind and has affected the atmosphere in the area.

Police have searched since 2022

Searches for Miinalainen began in autumn 2022, shortly after she disappeared. Police previously searched, among other places, in Pihtipudas and Rovaniemi before the investigation led to Muonio in Finnish Lapland.

Lapland police have spent hundreds of hours on the search. Although investigators have narrowed the area, it remains large and difficult to cover, Commissioner Mikko Pesola said.

Police have received dozens of tips from the public, said Detective Chief Inspector Jari Korkalainen of the Helsinki Police Department, who is leading the investigation. He expects more tips in autumn, when hunting season and visitors travelling to see the autumn colours bring more people into the wilderness.

Lapland police’s remains-detection dog Mörkö and Senior Constable Tero Oiva recently spent three days in the Kittilä area checking a tip received by police. Mörkö is trained to search for human remains, including the smell of blood.

Moring drove Miinalainen to Lapland

Moring is serving a prison sentence for several violent and sexual offences against women. He is also charged with the manslaughter of Saara Arva, who disappeared in 2019. Arva’s remains were found in April 2024 on a difficult-to-reach headland in North Savo.

According to police, Moring had a habit of driving women he targeted along remote roads around Finland. Police believe he did the same with Miinalainen.

Moring drove a white Audi with Miinalainen as a passenger through Kanta-Häme and Central Finland to Lapland and Muonio. She then disappeared. When Moring returned to Helsinki in the Audi in late August 2022, Miinalainen was no longer in the car.

Police have not disclosed how they identified Muonio as the search area for investigative reasons. Korkalainen said the case was made public because information from ordinary people could help solve it.