The father of a Calgary woman who went missing in January has returned to Hamilton in the hopes of ramping up the search for his daughter by offering a reward and starting a new flyer campaign across the city.
In a Facebook video post on Saturday afternoon, Dave Clark paired up with family friend and volunteer search organizer Elle McFearsin to say his daughter has not yet been found.
McFearsin said the search team was offering money for photos, video or any information on the 27-year-old’s whereabouts since her disappearance Jan. 11 in central Hamilton.
“We really would appreciate anything you have,” Clark said in the social media post. “If you could just spread the news of it, because there may be some people out there who are motivated by money.”
Holly moved from Calgary to Toronto about a year and a half ago, eventually moving on to Hamilton to pursue a music career. A boyfriend and a band were the reason for her trek from Alberta to southern Ontario.
Following a break-up with both, Holly made a move to Central Hamilton in October of 2019 to pursue another opportunity to join a group.
After spending some time in Toronto with siblings over the Christmas break, Holly went back to Hamilton and that’s when the family began to notice a change in her behaviour with a number of emotional phone calls.
The last time Clark heard from his daughter in January, he said she called in a panic, afraid for her life.
Hamilton police say Ellsworth-Clark left her home in the area of Sanford Avenue and Cannon Street around 4 p.m. on Jan. 11.
The last known sighting of Holly, according to police, was around 4:50 p.m. that same day as seen by a security camera in an area around Wentworth and Shaw Streets.
Clark and his wife Greta left Hamilton for their home in Calgary in early March after failing to find Holly during a two-month search.
For months, volunteers put up posters, canvassed Hamilton neighbourhoods and visited shelters across southern Ontario.
Clark believes the last time he saw his daughter alive was in another piece of security camera footage from Feb. 3, which showed a woman walking north of Barton Street East, near Wentworth Street North, on Shaw Street.
“Well, somebody who looks very much like her, has the same gait, the same height, the same haircut. So I would say the same boots that she was last seen wearing,” said Clark.
However, Hamilton police did not confirm the sighting saying that the footage was too dark and grainy to positively identify the person in the video.
Following a number of ground searches in January, and some unsubstantiated tips from the public, Clark’s family began expanding their quest across southern Ontario and specifically shelters where they could talk to people who effectively live on the street.
Clark and McFearsin say volunteer searches and the posting of flyers in the city have already begun with Clark’s arrival late last week.
“This is the last place that we know that she was at. If you know that she is in another town or another area, we’re happy to travel there,” said McFearsin.
Holly Ellsworth-Clark is 27 years old, about six feet tall and 200 lbs. with an athletic build, and was last seen wearing a black, long-sleeved shirt, black pants, black boots and possibly carrying a black backpack.
Tips from the public can still be sent to bringhollyhome2020@gmail.com, and a Facebook group called Holly Clark Search will continue, according to family and friends.
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