It’s been four years since an Edmonton woman vanished without a trace, and despite the odds, Nadia Atwi’s mother is still hopeful she’ll come home.
Salwa Atwi said she still clearly remembers the day her daughter was reported missing.
“She didn’t message me like usual. So I phoned and nobody answered,” Salwa said. “So I went to her house and I knocked on the door. Her husband answered. He said she left.”
Nadia was a kindergarten teacher at a private school in south Edmonton. But on Dec. 8, 2017, she didn’t show up for work.
“She never did that before, so it was out of character,” Salwa explained.
Nadia’s vehicle was found in Rundle Park. Family, friends and volunteers helped search the area.
“So many people went there and we looked, and we were told the police searched the area, the skies, the ground,” Salwa recalled.
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But they didn’t find anything. Four years later, Nadia’s two-year-old son is now six.
She has missed birthdays, milestones, weddings and the birth of babies in her large family.
Salwa said she can’t give up on her daughter.
“The fact that you have a missing child will always hit you. It’s in your mind, in your heart,” she said.
“Until we have a clear and concrete answer, we cannot quit.”
She said she prays for answers every day. Salwa even taped up posters to her house and garage, just in case someone might recognize Nadia and remember something.
“Somebody maybe has seen something that morning, heard something. Please, I keep begging someone to come forward and help us solve this mystery.”
Salwa knows the odds aren’t good.
“After that long, the chances are slim of finding her alive. But still, you know, you cannot lose hope.”
One year after Nadia’s disappearance, police called her case non-suspicious.
On Wednesday, they said there is no update in the case but investigators continue to be in contact with the Atwis, as recently as three weeks ago.
There is still a reward for information that brings Nadia home safe.
And while there’s no more planned searches, if people want to help, Salwa said there is something she needs.
“All that I ask is for prayers, because what can we do at this time?” she said.
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