Well-known McGill music professor missing, police and family asking for help

Montreal police are investigating the disappearance of well-known professor, choral conductor, and musical scholar Eleanor Stubley. She has been missing since Monday, Aug. 7.

“It’s a mystery, it’s completely out of character for her to do this,” said her brother Peter Stubley.

The 57-year-old was last seen dropping off a friend near the intersection of Notre-Dame and St-Philippe streets in Montreal’s South West borough in her adapted, blue, 2004 Dodge Caravan.

Stubley has multiple sclerosis, and gets around in a wheelchair or on crutches. She takes medication for her condition regularly, but doesn’t have it with her.

“I know that she can have difficulty breathing and things like that without the medication. I’m not sure that it’s game over that she hasn’t had her medication in six days, but she’d be unhappy and unwell at this point,” her brother told Global News.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I know that she can have difficulty breathing and things like that without the medication. I'm not sure that it's game over that she hasn't had her medication in six days, but she'd be unhappy and unwell at this point," her brother told Global News.

Eleanor Stubley is five feet three inches tall, and weighs 90 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes.

She’s been known to frequent the Lachine Canal, and sometimes enjoys taking photos of the Lachine Rapids.

Her brother says police have been helpful.

“They’ve checked her credit cards, there’s been no activity. Her cell phone is off, so they can’t ping it,” he said.

Stubley’s McGill colleagues are also reeling from the news.

“It was a shock, everybody is extremely concerned,” said Stephane Lemelin, the chair of the Department of Performance at the Schulich School of Music.

He calls her a passionate advocate for students and a brilliant scholar.

“She’s a widely respected choral conductor and has been teaching at McGill for well over 20 years. She’s a choral conductor, she’s a musicologist, she’s written extensively about Canadian music in particular. She’s a thought-provoking, articulate scholar,” Lemelin said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "She's a widely respected choral conductor and has been teaching at McGill for well over 20 years. She's a choral conductor, she's a musicologist, she's written extensively about Canadian music in particular. She's a thought-provoking, articulate scholar," Lemelin said.

Police ask anyone with information to call Info-Crime immediately at 514-393-1133.

Her brother says police have now been checking the borders but think it’s unlikely she would have gone far.

“I use a lot of black humour in situations like this. So my latest wisecrack is: how far can a skinny woman in a wheelchair really get?”