Police tie U.S. rapist to murders of four young Canadian women in 1970s

May 18 (UPI) -- Federal police in Alberta say a U.S. citizen convicted of rape was behind the murders of four women in the Canadian province in the 1970s.

Officials with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed Friday that DNA linked one man to the murders of the four women, which all took place around the southern Alberta city of Calgary.

Eva Dvorak and Patricia McQueen were both 14 when they were found dead in February of 1976. The two were last seen together before vanishing, their bodies discovered near each other underneath a highway overpass.

The body of Melissa Rehorek, 20, was found later that year, while 19-year-old Barbara MacLean was killed in 1977.

Police confirmed DNA linked all four cases to Gary Allen Srery, a U.S. citizen. Srery died of natural causes in an Idaho prison in 2011 while serving a sentence for rape.

Srery lived a transient lifestyle while moving across parts of Alberta and neighboring British Columbia between the mid to late 1970s and 2003 when he was deported.

Initial autopsies conducted on Dvorak and McQueen did not identify a cause of death, leading the medical examiner at the time to rule out homicide. They were instead investigated as sudden deaths, until the Alberta RCMP Historical Homicide Unit took charge of the files decades later.

Police credited "forensic evidence, witness statements and similar fact evidence" with cracking the case open. They also used forensic genealogy to build a family tree that helped zero in on Srery.

If he were still alive, Srery would be facing murder charges in all four cases, which have grabbed international headlines.

"For nearly 50 years, investigators did not give up in their pursuit to identify the man responsible for these murders," RCMP Supt. David Hall said during a news conference Friday.

"Identifying the offender does not bring back Eva, Patsy, Melissa or Barbara, but it is my true hope that their families are finally able to have some answers as to what happened to their loved ones all those years ago."

Authorities believe Srery, who was born in 1942, may also be behind other murders during his time in Canada.

"Srery's criminality spanned decades, over multiple jurisdictions, under numerous aliases, and the Alberta RCMP believe there may be more victims," the RCMP said in its Friday statement.

"We are asking the public to assist in further establishing Srery's timeline in Canada. If you recognize Gary Srery or knew him by one of his many aliases the Alberta RCMP want to hear from you. If you believe Srery may be associated to or responsible for a crime in your jurisdiction, we ask that you reach out to the policing agency within that jurisdiction to report."