Police offering $100K reward for info in case of woman abducted in Wasaga Beach
Posted January 12, 2023 7:01 am.
Last Updated January 12, 2023 2:32 pm.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and York Regional Police are offering a $100,000 reward to anyone with information that leads to the location of a woman abducted a year ago.
The OPP provided an update into the case on Thursday morning — exactly one year after 37-year-old Elnaz Hajtamiri was violently taken from a relative’s home in Wasaga Beach by three men in police gear.
She has not been seen since the kidnapping and investigators are hoping the new financial reward will bring forth information that will lead them to her whereabouts.
“My biggest hope is that she is alive, my greatest fear is that she is not,” said OPP Det.-Insp. Martin Graham, speaking to reporters from OPP headquarters in Mississauga.
Hajtamiri is described as five-foot-four inches tall with a slim build, with shoulder length brown hair, and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a dark knitted sweater, black tights/leggings with light coloured socks.
Investigators are also releasing composite sketches of two of three suspects they say showed up at the home to arrest the victim on the night of Jan. 12, 2022. When the homeowner became suspicious the three men overpowered them and abducted Hajtamiri.
The first suspect is described as approximately 6’0” tall, very skinny, lighter
black skin, with a long narrow face. He had a thick black belt with an attached handcuff
pouch and holstered black gun with a magazine inside. The gun appeared to have been
worn, with metal areas exposed.
The second suspect is described as approximately 5’9” tall with lighter
black skin. He is stocky with skinny legs, wearing white/cream shoes with a plastic toe
cap, cotton black gloves and in possession of imitation handcuffs.
Police say both suspects in the sketches were wearing dark jackets over their fake police vests and a balaclava with white trim pulled up over their noses.
The third suspect is approximately five-foot-nine inches tall, lighter coloured skin, possibly Middle Eastern and thin. It was suspected that he had a firearm in his jacket.
The three suspects fled the scene in a white 2016-2022 Lexus RX SUV.
“Someone knows these men,” said Graham. “The smallest bit of information may be able to bring resolution to a family.
“We cannot imagine the pain that they are experiencing.”
Please help us #BringElnazHome. Anyone with information can call 1-888-310-1122 or @CSOntario https://t.co/J9XX8YncmA pic.twitter.com/W5qqgxbLLv
— Ontario Provincial Police (@OPP_News) January 12, 2023
The incident has led to pleas from the victim’s family for more information. Her mother, Fariba Hajtamiri, has said the family is “living a desperate life” in the attempt to find a resolution to the disappearance.
Police passed along a new statement from Elnaz’s mother on Thursday:
“Nothing weighs more heavily on our souls than the idea that we may never know what happened to Elnaz. We know there are people out there who have information and who may be contemplating whether to come forward. We pray that you will do the right thing and help us out of this suffering and bring justice for Elnaz.”
Elnaz Hajtamiri was staying at the relative’s home in Wasaga Beach last January following an assault a month earlier. Investigators said she was attacked with a frying pan in the underground parking lot of her Richmond Hill condo, in the area of Yonge Street and Bantry Avenue.
Her sister said she was staying at a relative’s home after police told her to find a temporary safe place when alleged threats from her ex-boyfriend became more serious.
Charges have been laid in both cases against her ex-boyfriend, Mohamad Lilo. He was charged with attempted murder and attempted abduction in the assault, and charged with abduction following the January kidnapping.
Two other men were charged in the December 2021 assault. The suspect vehicle used in that incident, which hasn’t been recovered, was deemed stolen from Don Mills Road and Finch Avenue East in Toronto.
Anyone with further information is being asked to contact investigators.
With files from The Canadian Press
