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CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
Family has not given up hope that Indigenous woman who disappeared in Barrie will be found
Family members of an Indigenous woman who went missing in Barrie, Ont., two years ago say they have never given up hope of finding her. The family of Autumn Shaganash gathered on Tuesday in Sunnidale Park in Barrie, where Shaganash was last seen, to appeal to anyone with information of her whereabouts to come forward. "We know that Autumn is somewhere out there and hope that one day soon she will return home to us," Lili Moore, her sister, said as she read from a statement. Shaganash, 26 at the time, was last seen walking in the park on June 10, 2023 between 10 a.m. and 12 noon, according to the Barrie Police Service. She was wearing tan-coloured leggings, slip-on Puma sandals, a black hoodie and carrying a black and tan Juicy Couture purse. Surveillance video from a nearby home captured her image walking with a man, each of them carrying a ski. Police have said he told them he was walking a few steps ahead of her and was momentarily distracted. When he turned around, she was gone. According to the family, Shaganash was on her phone talking to an unknown person on the morning she went missing. Police say, within three minutes of the end of that call, her phone went to voicemail. Police say she used an app and that that they haven't been able to determine who she was talking to. "We miss you so much, Autumn, and we want you to come home," Moore added. Moore said the family is grateful that Barrie police continue to focus on finding Shaganash in the hopes of reuniting her with her family. 'We're not going to ever stop looking for you' Kimberly Moore, Shaganash's cousin, said she hopes that Autumn is still alive and that the family still looks for her today. "I know if she was here and if she could say something, she would be telling us, 'Don't stop looking for me. Don't stop advocating for me,'" she said. "Autumn, if you do hear this somehow or see this somehow, we're not going to ever stop looking for you." She said the family has hired a private investigator, and family members would like to see the people who were interviewed shortly after Shagash went missing be reinterviewed. She added that the family searched the park a year ago and found no human remains. She said she would also like to know who was talking to Shaganash on the phone that morning. And she added that she would like others to learn from her cousin's case. "I urge families to look for that person right away. And get that camera footage right away if somebody does go missing," she said. Clarence Moore, Shaganash's uncle, said his niece used to call her grandmother every night. That hasn't happened in two years, he said. "It's not like Autumn," he said. "We just hope and pray that we could find her or anyone out there could help us find her, even let us know if you know anything about what happened. I'm pretty sure that somebody knows out there what has happened. She cannot just disappear like this on her own. We're just really concerned now because it's been two years." The last two years have been difficult on the family, especially for his mother, he added. He said he thinks about Shaganash every day. "We're just trying to be strong for each other and have faith that we'll find her and that one day somebody will be empathetic and compassionate enough to let us know what has happened or even to let us know where she is, if she is around still," he said. Barrie police still receiving tips Peter Leon, corporate communications coordinator for Barrie Police Service, said eight electronic billboards are running in Barrie this month, displaying information about Shagash's disappearance and reminding the public of a $50,000 reward for information leading police to her or her whereabouts. "We are still receiving tips. And those tips are valuable to this investigation. I want to assure the public that this investigation remains active and it remains ongoing," Leon said. The service's major crime unit is following up on every tip, he said. Shaganash's family has suffered and she needs to be reunited with her family, he added. "We need to go where the information takes us and our investigators are prepared to do that," he said. Leon said canine units and drones have searched the park repeatedly and an extensive land search has been done with emergency support units. After the March ice storm this year, the park underwent a significant cleanup. "If anything was going to be discovered, there was the potential at that time as well," he said. Minni Moore, Shaganash's grandmother, said she prays for her granddaughter's safe return. "One day at a time, waiting for my granddaughter to come home," she said. "I miss her bad."
CTV News
3 days ago
- CTV News
Barrie woman's family desperate for answers 2 years after her mysterious disappearance
It's been two years since Barrie woman Autumn Shaganash vanished without a trace as her family and police appeal for information to bring her home. On Tuesday, Shaganash's family gathered at Sunnidale Park in Barrie, the last place she was seen before disappearing. "We remain hopeful‚" said Shaganash's sister, Lili Moore. "I know she's out there somewhere." Video surveillance obtained by police showed Shaganash walking with a friend on the morning of June 10, 2023, at the same time an ALS Walk was underway with dozens in attendance. Her friend told police he was ahead of her and had become momentarily distracted and when he turned back around she was gone. Shaganash family Autumn Shaganash's loved ones gather at Sunnidale Park in Barrie, Ont., on June 10, 2025. (CTV News/Mike Lang) Investigators have said she vanished into thin air without a sound or cry for help. Lili Moore said she received a text from Shaganash that morning, but within minutes her sister's phone was off. 'She should be home with us,' her sister said. 'It's really hard.' Barrie police and the woman's family believe someone has information that could crack the case. 'Somebody knows what happened. Somebody has got to know something,' said Shaganash's cousin, Kim Moore. 'Please if anybody knows anything… if anybody saw something that day, please." Missing Poster Autumn Shaganash of Barrie has been missing since June 10th. (CTV NEWS/Rob Cooper) 'We can't stress the importance, if anybody has any information, no matter how small it may be, we're asking you reach out to the Barrie police or your local police service and let them know. It could be the piece of the puzzle that we're searching for that allows us to reunite Autumn with her family,' added Peter Leon, Barrie Police Service corporate communications. Several searches have been conducted over the last two years to no avail. 'No less than six searches have been conducted. We've utilized K9 resources, we've utilized remote-piloted aircraft systems or drones, we've done ground searches… We haven't located anything here," Leon said from Sunnidale Park Tuesday. Police search Police and the K9 unit search Sunnidale Park in Barrie, Ont., on Wed., Oct. 23, 2024, in hopes of finding clues about Autumn Shaganash's disappearance. (CTV News/Alessandra Carneiro) Where the then-27-year-old woman went and with whom remains a mystery. Police previously said they couldn't rule out the possibility of human trafficking. 'It's been like hell. It's the saddest thing someone can go through,' Kim Moore said of the not knowing and the fear that someone is holding her against her will. 'She's the most amazing person. She's funny, she's kind, she family oriented. She would have come home that day. I know she would have.' 'If she's alive, I hope she can escape from what's happening to her,' Lili Moore stated. Police urge the public to focus on the facts of the case. 'We rely on facts. Speculation only fuels rumours and speculation,' Leon noted. 'Our investigators have never lost their focus. Their focus since day one is locating Autumn and reuniting her with her family.' The Barrie Police Service has utilized various resources to find Shaganash, including launching multiple electronic and mobile billboards, a city bus campaign, and a $50,000 reward for information on her whereabouts. 'This investigation will continue until we are able to bring resolution to this case,' Leon said. 'We have not given up hope.' Autumn Shaganash Autumn Shaganash disappeared on June 10, 2023, in Barrie, Ont. (Source: Barrie Police Services) Related Stories
