A property on Kelly Jordan Road has become the focus of an intensifying investigation after Ontario Provincial Police confirmed the discovery of a third set of human remains on the site.
Police identified the remains as those of Lawrence Bertrim, a 42-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont. resident who disappeared nearly four years ago. Officers made the discovery on August 6, 2026, at the rural property that has now yielded three separate sets of remains in less than 12 months.
Bertrim's final confirmed sighting occurred around 11 p.m. on September 30, 2022, when he was spotted in the downtown core of Smiths Falls. Authorities have not yet determined what caused his death.
The Ontario government has maintained a $50,000 reward for anyone who provides information that results in an arrest and conviction connected to Bertrim's disappearance, OPP confirmed in a news release issued Tuesday.
Just weeks before finding Bertrim's remains, investigators located the body of Robert Lambert, a Montague Township resident who went missing on November 18, 2018, at age 75. Lambert required assistance with mobility and needed regular medication when he vanished. His remains were also discovered on the Kelly Jordan Road property.
The province had offered a $50,000 reward for information about Lambert's disappearance slightly more than a year before his remains were found.
The grim pattern began last October when police executed a search warrant at the property on October 30. That search uncovered remains later confirmed as Robbie Thomson, who had disappeared in October 2023. Authorities have arrested and charged four individuals in connection with Thomson's death.
No arrests or charges have been filed regarding the deaths of Lambert or Bertrim.
The investigation continues as a joint effort between OPP's criminal investigation branch, Lanark County OPP, and Smiths Falls Police Service. Residents can expect to see an increased police presence on Kelly Jordan Road as the investigation proceeds.
