Advocates seek to push search for missing North Vancouver woman beyond North Shore

Advocates for a woman missing from North Vancouver for nearly two weeks are hoping to get the word out beyond the North Shore.

Fatemeh Abdolali, 35, was last seen at 12:20 p.m. on Feb. 26, near Marine Drive and Capilano Road.

Sheila McFarland, who is friends with some of Abdolali’s colleagues, said there is growing concern about her disappearance.

“Now we’re going on almost two weeks; it’s most certainly out of character. She is a fiercely independent person, it’s true, but she likes to keep fairly close contact with her family back in Iran,” she said.

“At this point, she has no family here.”

Abdolali was recently hired as a researcher at UBC, and had been scheduled to hold her first talk on Wednesday.

Missing persons advocate Anne Gavin is hoping to raise awareness about her case in other parts of Metro Vancouver.

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“We know she loves to walk, she’s new to town, so she doesn’t have a lot of support, she doesn’t know a lot of people, and we want people to be aware of her,” Gavin said.

“She walks four or five hours, doesn’t think anything of it — so that’s why we’re thinking the focus needs to be beyond the North Shore.”

North Vancouver RCMP said last week that they had located some of Abdolali’s belongings in Heywood Park, but despite an extensive search of the area were unable to locate her.

“We are concerned for her wellbeing and would really like to find her … There is no indication at this time that foul play is involved in her disappearance,” North Vancouver RCMP Sgt. Peter DeVries said in a media release on Friday.

Investigators are appealing for anyone who was near Hewywood Park around noon last Friday, or walking on Marine Drive between Capilano Road and Mackay Avenue, to contact them if they remember seeing anyone who looked like her.

Abdolali is described as five-feet-three-inches tall with long dark hair and brown eyes.

She was last seen wearing a light pink sweater and grey and white walking shoes, and was carrying a black shopping bag.

Anyone who thinks they see Abdolali is asked to call 911 immediately.