Police search for 2nd-degree murder suspect in 2012 slaying of London, Ont. woman

Police have charged a 32-year-old man with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a 24-year-old woman who has not been seen since 2012.

Vanessa Anne Fotheringham was reported missing to London police on Feb. 21, 2012, after last being seen five days prior.

Police launched an extensive investigation into the disappearance of Fotheringham, but her body has never been found.

Investigators said Monday that Fotheringham and a suspect in her death, Antonio Valentin Resendez Cortez, were known to each other and he has been charged in absentia with one count of second-degree murder.

Police said Cortez’s current whereabouts are unknown and the investigation is ongoing.

Fotheringham’s family said in a release that they were dealing with a “very difficult time” and that Fotheringham is “in our thoughts and prayers daily.”

“When you are a parent of a victim, not only do you feel utterly helpless and abandoned by the world, you also know that very few people can understand, or even begin to believe, that life can be this painful,” the family wrote.

“There is nothing I can think of that is quite as devastating as this is.”

The Fotheringham family thanked London police for their work during the investigation and family and friends for their condolences and prayers.

“It will be that support and love we receive that will make us be survivors through all this,” the family said.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call the London Police Service at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-222-TIPS (8477).