Montreal

Quebec cold case revived with $10,000 reward

Investigators are searching for new leads in the murder of Sharron Prior, who was found dead in a wooded Longueuil lot in 1975.

Anonymous donor offers cash to help find teen's killer

Yvonne Prior held a missing poster of her daughter Sharron in 2012, found dead 37 years prior in Longueuil.
Yvonne Prior holds a missing poster of her daughter Sharron, found dead 37 years ago in Longueuil. (CBC)

Latest

  • Sharron Prior disappeared on March 29, 1975
  • Her body was found in Longueuil on April 1, 1975
  • Prior's skull was fractured and she'd been sexually assaulted
  • A man's shirt and footprints found nearby pointed to a suspect weighing about 90 kg

It’s been 37 years since the battered and bruised body of pretty, blond 16-year-old Sharron Prior was found dumped in a wooded lot on Montreal’s South Shore.

Now her family and investigators are hoping a new $10,000 reward will bring forward clues that will help to finally catch her killer.

Prior disappeared the evening of March 29, 1975. She had spent the day painting Easter eggs with her family and had left to meet friends at a pizzeria five blocks away from her Pointe Saint-Charles home.

picture of a blond 16-year-old girl holding a trophy
Sharron Prior was last seen March 29, 1975. (CBC)

She never arrived.

Three days later, her battered body was found in a wooded lot in Longueuil. 

For 37 years her family has been waiting for answers.

Investigators hope that someone who may have kept quiet finally comes forward.

Command post

Police have now set up a command post in Prior’s old neighbourhood.

"We are meeting with citizens who might have lived in the Pointe St. Charles area 35 years ago and we're trying to receive any tips that could help us advance in this case," said Const. Mark David, on behalf of Longueuil police, the force that has retained the cold case for decades.

David acknowledges that after all this time, finding the killer may be a faint hope. But he’s hoping the reward, offered by an anonymous donor, will provide some incentive.

A year after her death, a newspaper article on her case reported that Prior had likely been alive when she was dumped at the site.

At least 38 people were questioned after Prior's death, with six being singled out as prime suspects. They were released due to a lack of information.

It is believed that Prior was likely alive when she was left in a Longueuil lot.

Police received a total of 60 tips after her death.

In 2004, a new tip led investigators to a garage in Pointe Saint-Charles.

"Somebody had told us that maybe Sharron had been held in that garage before being transported to Longueuil but unfortunately we found no proof that day indicating that Sharron had been held [there]," David said.

Anyone with information can contact the Longueuil police at 450-463-7211.