Accused in Tim Bosma disappearance staying silent, lawyer says

Dellen Millard, the 27-year-old charged in relation to the disappearance of Ancaster, Ont., man Tim Bosma, is "exercising his right to remain silent," his lawyer says.

Deepak Paradkar, the attorney representing Millard, told CBC News his client is "shocked" by the charges against him of forcible confinement and theft over $5,000 and isn't the type of person to commit such crimes.

"He's a very unassuming, humble person. He's intelligent, well-educated and financially well off, so there's no motive here," Paradkar said, adding his client has no prior history of crime.

"He's never had a brush with law, never been to jail."

Paradkar said Millard is staying silent until the police complete their investigation. Millard is set to attend a bail hearing Wednesday, but Paradkar said they will hold off on requesting bail until the Crown can provide them with more information on the case.

The search for Bosma has been narrowed to the Kitchener-Waterloo area, police said Monday, a week after the 32-year-old went missing while taking two men for a test drive in the truck he had posted for sale online.

Police have found Bosma's cellphone and what they believe to be the truck he was last seen in and have received over 500 tips from the public. But there's still no sign of the young husband and father.

Police have obtained search warrants and they're concentrating their efforts on the Kitchener-Waterloo area, Const. Debbie McGreal-Dinning said Monday.

Waterloo Regional Police Services (WRPS) are on hand to assist, but the investigation is still being led by Hamilton police.

"We have a liaison officer, an investigator, assisting the Hamilton police while they are in Waterloo region, and that's basically for local support and knowledge of the area if there is anything Hamilton requires," WRPS Insp. Kevin Thaler said. 

Police had found Bosma's cellphone in Brantford earlier in the week. Late Sunday, they confirmed they had found a truck inside a trailer parked in the driveway of the house of Millard's mother, Madeleine Burns.

• Read a statement from Tim Bosma's family

Millard appeared in court Saturday via video in Hamilton.

An accomplished pilot from a young age, Millard once held the world record for the youngest pilot to take a solo helicopter flight, when he was 14. Millard's family ran and operated Millardair, which chartered flights out of Toronto and, more recently, Waterloo.

Suspect's home raided

In recent years, Millard took up racing, and had an interest in repairing and restoring cars and trucks. He and a friend are listed as racers in the 2011 Baja off-road desert race in Mexico, and Facebook photos show the pair's trip to participate in the event.

Earlier this week, Millard's home was raided by Toronto police, neighbours said. He lived there alone after his father died six months ago. He was last seen by neighbours Wednesday evening working outside on his house with a few other men.

• Missing Ontario man's truck believed found

Neighbours also told CBC News they were shocked by news of Millard's arrest and described him as "a normal kid."

Expansive search

Hamilton police's investigation into Bosma's disappearance has taken them across southern Ontario, with assistance from several other municipal police departments and provincial police.

• Tim Bosma investigation leads police to Brantford, Ont.

The search began close to Bosma's home in Ancaster where he was first seen but quickly expanded to Mississauga where a witness told police two men who fit the suspects' descriptions test drove his truck, also a Dodge Ram 3500, on Sunday, May 5.

The investigation then took police to Brantford after they located Bosma's cellphone in an industrial park near Oak Park Road. Police began reviewing local business surveillance to follow up on reports that Bosma's truck was spotted in West Brantford last Monday night.

Following Millard's arrest in Etobicoke, police were spotted on scene at the Region of Waterloo International Airport in the Millardair company hangar. By Sunday, they had descended on Millard's mother's home in Vaughan, creating a web of leads across the lower part of the province.

As of Monday morning, police were still on scene at the Millardair hangar in Waterloo, including the Hamilton Police Services forensic truck.

Truck found, but Bosma still missing

Neighbours told CBC News they were awakened late Thursday night by the bright lights and noise of a truck backing up. It dropped off the trailer in Millard's mother's driveway and left. 

On Sunday, around noon, police descended on the property. By that night, as police towed away the trailer, Hamilton police confirmed there was a truck inside the trailer they believe belongs to Tim Bosma. Now, police tell CBC News they are looking for video surveillance from homes on Tinsmith Court, the street where the trailer was found.

Neighbours told CBC News the lights of the truck were so bright, they couldn't make out a licence plate. They also noted they hadn't seen Millard's mother all week.