Missing Markham woman said she was ‘starting on a journey’
Posted January 19, 2016 5:47 am.
Last Updated January 19, 2016 4:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
York regional police continue to search for a Markham woman who has been missing for a week.
Taneesha Brown, 25, was last seen near McCowan Road and Castlemore Avenue around 10:45 p.m. on Jan. 12.
“Taneesha, please contact somebody and let us know you’re OK because we need you back in our lives,” her mother, Kim Mazerolle, cried in an interview with CityNews on Monday. “It’s not the same without you.”
On Monday, police released surveillance video from Bur Oak Secondary School, located in the Markham Road and 16th Avenue area, showing a person believed to be Brown walking and talking with an unknown man.
Police said the man is not a suspect, but a witness who spoke to Brown before she walked away. Investigators believe they don’t know each other.
Police said the man spoke with investigators on Monday night. He said around 10:45 p.m., he left the school and headed towards the parking lot when he was approached by Brown.
He asked her if she was OK since she wasn’t dressed for the weather. She said she was fine but “starting on a journey.” She then walked south behind the soccer fields.
The video was filmed about 20 minutes after she was seen by her family at her aunt’s house near McCowan and Castlemore. At the time, she told family members she was going outside for some fresh air but did not return.
Watch the video below or click here to view it.
York police Const. Andy Pattenden said Monday it appears Brown was walking towards the GO train station in the area.
Bur Oak Secondary School is located near several ponds. Officers will be using a remotely-operated vehicle to check areas of open water in the partially frozen ponds.
Last week, Brown’s family and investigators said they were especially concerned as she is not dressed for the weather. She also lives with bipolar disorder and was not taking medication at the time.
“Now that we know that she’s on foot and walking around not dressed for the conditions, that’s why I’m worried,” Brown’s brother, Kevin Mazerolle, told CityNews.
“The only assumption I’ve made thus far is she’s alive and she’s safe somewhere. Someone is taking care of her,” her sister Felicia Mazerolle said.
Brown is black, five-feet-five-inches tall and 122 pounds. She has long black hair with pink streaks in it.
Police said she was last seen wearing a traditional Muslim outfit including a white, knee-length dashiki, white pants and a white hijab on her head. She was also carrying a black purse.
