Three bodies, one property: a closer look at the massive Smiths Falls forensic search

Drone photographs show evidence of extensive digging across much of the property at 572 Kelly-Jordan Rd., near Smiths Falls. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

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Up until last October, a mother, father and two children lived at 572 Kelly-Jordan Rd. Then the arrests were made.

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In the months since, a police search has unearthed three sets of human remains on the site, all related to a series of disappearances from around Smiths Falls, Ont., dating back nearly a decade.

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Now exclusive drone photographs captured by the Ottawa Citizen, as well as interviews with outside experts and people close to the Ontario Provincial Police search, reveal the methods investigators have used to locate the remains — and hint at where the probe is focused now.

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The grisly discoveries put this property, a densely wooded 40-acre parcel of land an hour outside Ottawa, squarely at the heart of a sprawling police investigation and criminal court process.

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Charged with first-degree murder in relation to the death of 34-year-old Robbie Thomson are Christopher Philip Fenton, 48, Erin Lynn Mackie, 41, and Joshua Joseph Belfiori, 35.

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Thomson’s remains were the first to be located on the property last October, a day after the three arrests. A former semi-pro hockey player, Thomson had been missing since October 2023.

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Robbie Thomson and his sister Tabatha in Smiths Falls. Robbie’s remains were found at 572 Kelly-Jordan Rd. just outside Smiths Falls. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

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Fenton and Mackie, who have two young children together, are listed on a police charge sheet as residing at the property that’s now under scrutiny in Montague Township.

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In more recent weeks, police have unearthed on that same property the remains of Robert Lambert, who was 75 when he went missing in 2018, and Lawrence Bertrim, who was 42 when he vanished in September 2022.

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No charges have been laid in connection with these two deaths.

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Lambert was the longtime owner of 572 Kelly-Jordan Rd. Some months before Lambert was last seen alive in July 2018, Fenton was named a co-owner on the property alongside of Lambert, land records show. Related land records also indicate that Fenton and Mackie were named Lambert’s powers of attorney during the same period.

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Fenton and Mackie were living on nearby Carroll Road when they are said to have befriended Lambert, a transplant from New York who had limited mobility and had recently become a widower.

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Police said on Aug. 5, 2026, they had uncovered Lambert on July 20. They found Bertrim on Aug. 6.

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Bridget Manahan and her mother Linda Mindle, both of Perth, Ont., led an active four-year campaign to locate Lawrence Bertrim. His body was found at 572 Kelly-Jordan Rd. Photo by Tony Caldwell /POSTMEDIA

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OPP spokesperson Sgt. Erin Cranton did not address a written question from the Ottawa Citizen about whether investigators had determined a cause of death for Bertrim.

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“This remains an active investigation,” Cranton said, adding that the Smiths Falls Police Service had assisted in the search alongside the OPP’s forensic, canine and aviation units.

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Speaking in general terms about the size and scope of the site, Hélène LeBlanc, who teaches forensic science at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa and who is one of only three certified forensic entomologists in Canada, stressed the labour-intensive nature of such large-scale operations.

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“This is a huge undertaking — they’re going to be engaged in this search for months,” she said.

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The drone photographs show evidence of extensive digging across much of the property.