The cloud of uncertainty continues to loom over the family of a Barrie woman, Autumn Shaganash, who vanished without a trace three months prior. The family is gripped in desperation as they resolutely seek answers, grappling with doubts about the effectiveness of the police investigation.
The pervasive silence amplifies their despair, but the pictures of Autumn fastened to the city’s downtown light posts remain a beacon of their relentless hope. Autumn’s cousin, Kimberly Moore fervently shared, “We don’t want her to be one of the girls that are not found. We want to find her.”
Autumn, the 26-year-old Indigenous woman, was last seen on June 9. Video surveillance captured her exit from the family house, followed by a rendezvous with an individual on Burton Avenue just as nightfall approached. Mere shadows of her whereabouts began to emerge from security footage from the next day, depicting her trailing a man in the Sunnidale Park region.
The unanticipated departure is uncanny according to her uncle, Clarence Moore. “It’s not like Autumn to do this,” he expressed. “Autumn would maintain contact with her grandmother, notably her sister, and her mother. She was a constant presence on social media, but there was an abrupt halt after June 9.”
While Barrie Police admitted to not having any leads on Shaganash’s whereabouts, they maintained that the investigation is in progress. Jennett Mays of Barrie Police Services assured, “The investigation does remain open and active. We have numerous investigators assigned to this.”
Although human trafficking hasn’t been ruled out as a possible factor in Shaganash’s sudden disappearance, the police are yet to draw a conclusive link.
Amid the ongoing investigative process, the family is proactively pushing for amplified efforts. They have declared a $10,000 reward for any substantive information, and are simultaneously raising supplementary funds via a GoFundMe campaign to employ a private investigator.
The intentions behind their initiative were clarified by Shaganash’s uncle, who said, “We want to see if the police are crossing their Ts and dotting their Is and conducting a thorough investigation.”
As the search for Shaganash continues, a fervent appeal is cast out to the public; the family encourages anyone wielding information to extend their cooperation and provide any relevant leads. Their quest for answers endures, fueled by their unwavering hope for Shaganash’s return.
