Toronto police offer $50K reward for info in disappearance of 8-year-old in 1985
Nicole Morin, 8, disappeared from an Etobicoke apartment building in 1985
Toronto police and loved ones are still on the hunt for information 40 years after an eight-year-old girl went missing – now offering up a $50,000 reward to anyone with tips on where to find her.
Police announced the reward on Wednesday outside the same Etobicoke apartment building where Nicole Morin went missing on July 30, 1985.
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) say she was last seen around 11 a.m. after leaving her apartment to meet a friend for a swim, but she never arrived.
"We have no hard evidence. After she went in that elevator it's almost like she just disappeared," said Det. Sgt. Steve Smith with TPS.
"We're hoping that this [reward] brings somebody to bring that one tip to us that tells us where Nicole is."
Smith says police have conducted "one of the most extensive searches" in Toronto police history, but have not located Morin, who would now be 48 years old.
Investigators have released an updated age-progressed image of Morin, showing what she may look like as an adult, and are offering the monetary reward for one year for information that leads to her location.
"It's probably one of the most high profile cases in Toronto, if not Canada," Smith said.
He says the case has "never been forgotten" and urges anyone with information to come forward.
'Time does not erase hope'
Melissa Elaschuk, a former police officer, keeps a photo negative of Morin to remind her of their childhood friendship.
She says they lived in the same apartment building at the time of her disappearance.
"There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that somebody knows something," she said. "There is no insignificant information."
In the hopes that Nicole is alive and doesn't remember her past, Elaschuk made a plea to her "best friend" outside their former home.
"If you think that you may be Nicole, if you don't know what your past is, I would encourage you to come forward because we do have ways of verifying," she said.
While the case has been ongoing for 40 years, there is still hope to locate Morin, says Amanda Pick, CEO of the Missing Children Society of Canada.
She says she was involved in a case where a missing child of 30 years was located by police.
"Time does not erase hope. It can't. We have to not only hope but take action," she said.
"Imagine that you are the person that could bring a missing child home and imagine that you are the person that has information that could bring Nicole home."
Report missing people immediately, not 24 hours later: police
Police say there are harmful myths concerning what to do if someone goes missing.
It's not advised to wait 24 hours to report a missing person, says Smith, and doing that could impede an investigation.
"If somebody is missing, we want to know immediately, right away. It's the best way to be able to try to find these people," he said.
Smith says parents should also speak with their children about how to be safe during summer vacation.
Anyone with information about Morin's disappearance is encouraged to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
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With files from the Canadian Press and Dale Manucdoc