A 60-year-old man was arrested Thursday in connection with the murder 16 years ago of a former Carmacks woman.

On July 24, 1990, the body of Cindy Burk, who was 21 at the time, was found near Kiskatinaw Provincial Park north of Dawson Creek, B.C., E-division RCMP noted in a statement.

Burk had been raised in Regina and later moved to Carmacks, but was new to northern B.C. in 1990.

Prior to the July 24, 1990 discovery, she had last been seen in mid-July in Prophet River, north of Fort St. John, and it was believed she was heading to Saskatchewan.

After her body was found, an extensive search of the area was done along with forensic work and numerous interviews, police said in a statement today.

Despite the work of the Dawson Creek, Fort Nelson, Fort St. John, North District Crime and E-division major crime units of the RCMP, charges were never laid.

Over the years, there were follow-ups and reviews as the file remained active.

'Those reviews and follow-ups ultimately led to the identification of a possible suspect and investigators within E-division major crimes' provincial unsolved homicide unit, with the assistance of other detachment and provincial units within B.C., acted upon that information quickly and thoroughly,' the RCMP noted.

After the report was forwarded to Crown prosecutors, the charge of second-degree murder was laid Thursday.

'This case is an example of how the RCMP remain committed to the families of victims and the communities we police to thoroughly investigate each unsolved case, actively follow-up any and all leads and use any and all investigative methods to find out what happened and bring anyone who may be responsible before the courts,' said E-division Supt. Leon Van De Walle.

Now preparing for the judicial process is retired Const. Bob Blahun, who was the primary investigator on the murder and who worked on the case for eight years.

He noted the initial work done has benefited from the follow-up work.

'It's that perseverance that will hopefully provide some closure to Cindy's family,' he said.

The RCMP have advised Burk's family, who live outside B.C., of the charge.

As investigators continuing working through the judicial process, anyone with information on the case is encouraged to call the provincial unsolved homocide unit at 1-877-543-4622.

The accused, Paul Russell Deleno Felker, was scheduled to make his first court appearance on the charge of second-degree murder in Fort St. John this afternoon.