As tips continue to trickle in to officers investigating the killing of Ardeth Wood, so too are "sightings" of the suspect depicted in a police sketch.
So far, there have been more than 1,400 tips -- and police have to check them all out.
"When a tip comes on the tip line, if it's a sighting, we send a police car to check on it," said Staff Sgt. Monique Ackland.
An officer talks to the suspect, checks his identification and records his details, such as address and phone number.
"The officer has to make a judgment call," she said. "He will take a well-identified person, write a report on his observations. That goes to the investigators. We have a person who screens all the tips and it's prioritized. We look at everything."
One 22-year-old man who works as a security officer at National Defence headquarters said he was questioned by two RCMP officers Saturday afternoon.
"A couple people said I look like the guy in the sketch, so they came to get my information," said Patrick Roy.
The plainclothes officers asked the Orl�ans man if he had tattoos or if he rides a bicycle to work. They also asked for details on his height, weight and where he goes to school.
"They had a little chart of things to go through," he said.
Police interviewed him for about 10 minutes, then left, telling him they may need to speak to him again.
While he says he is not the man in the composite sketch, he does think he bears some resemblance to it. He has facial hair and glasses, and is of similar height and weight. He also often rides his bicycle to work and passes the area where Ms. Wood's body was found. But many men could look like the man in the composite, he said.
Police do not know whether the man they are looking for is still in the city. "We have to think broad. He could have left," said Staff Sgt. Ackland.
The composite sketch was sent to police services across Canada. All major public transportation organizations have been alerted. Staff in bus companies, airports and train stations have been notified. Six experienced RCMP homicide and major crime investigators have been assigned to work with Ottawa police.
Police said canvassing has been suspended until further notice and volunteers are no longer needed. Investigators are assessing the need for volunteers on a daily basis, Staff Sgt. Ackland said.
Meanwhile, more than 200 people from all over Ottawa went to the aviation museum yesterday afternoon to pay tribute to Ms. Wood and "reclaim" the bicycle paths.
Men and women, husbands and wives, grandparents, children and teenagers all wore yellow ribbons tied around their arms. Most of the participants didn't know Ms. Wood or her family. But that doesn't matter, some said.
"She represents every one of us," said volunteer Theresa James, 25. "The fact that it happened during daylight makes me feel unsafe. You shouldn't have to be afraid."
Shawn Payer, 30, attended by himself. "I just wanted to pay my respects to Ardeth and her family," he said.
Mr. Payer volunteered his time last weekend, going door to door handing out flyers and doing what he could to help.
"I was sitting at home and realized she could be anyone. It made me feel sick knowing she may be out there and needed help."
Larry Lapointe, 79, showed up on his motorized scooter.
He said he is out on the pathways near the Aviation Parkway nearly every afternoon.
"The only day I didn't do it was Wednesday," he said. "I was there last Thursday and didn't see a single person."
Lisa Campbell, a lawyer and mother of two who was one of the organizers of the event, said she's used the paths hundreds of times. "I would have never thought that on a sunny day, a grown woman couldn't go on a bike ride in Ottawa."
After everyone had returned from the walk, Ottawa police Const. Mark Cartwright urged participants to use "basic common sense" when cycling on Ottawa's bike trails.
And he had this advice for women: "If you see someone ahead of you and you don't like the feel of it, turn away," he said. "There is a thing called woman's intuition and I'm a firm believer in it."