Woman missing since 1980 was living outside of Canada the whole time, recently died: Ottawa police

A woman who went missing in 1980 had been living outside of Canada the entire time and recently passed away, Ottawa police said Wednesday.

In a news release, police said the family of Dale Nancy Wyman was recently contacted by a third party who told them the news.

Police said Wyman went missing on July 16, 1980.

She was 22 years old and lived with her family on Washington Avenue in what was then the City of Vanier.

Police said she told some family members that year that she was thinking of leaving home and on July 16, left the residence just before noon with a suitcase.

Wyman hailed a taxi and went to the Voyageur bus station on Catherine Street. Police said she didn’t tell her family members where she was going.

Investigators spoke to the only witness at the time — the taxi driver — who said that Wyman mentioned she didn’t know where she was heading, possibly Toronto or Montreal, police said.

The taxi driver entered the bus station to get a coffee after dropping her off and saw Wyman speaking to two young adults, who were never identified.

That was the last time anyone in Ottawa saw her.

Last year, police released age-progressed sketches of Wyman created by the Ontario Provincial Police.

Police also released a message from her sister and noted that her family “never stopped searching for her.”

“Dale is deeply missed by her brother and two sisters,” her sister Brenda Larche said at the time.

“Our hearts hold an empty space for her and we pray and hope that someone may remember her in any way. Please help us to resolve this and find some peace and closure.”

Over time, investigators received tips that Wyman may have been in Alberta and in the Toronto area in the early 1990s. Police said her family thought she may have been in Alberta or Saskatchewan at some point.

But on Wednesday, police said a third party came across last year’s post and contacted Wyman’s family to tell them she had been living outside of the country and recently passed away.

Det. Linda Nethercott from Ottawa police’s missing persons unit verified the information.

Police didn’t say specifically where she was living.

“The family and Ottawa Police would like to thank everyone for their assistance in closing this file,” Nethercott said.

“The family has been waiting over 40 years for this news….

“Unsolved cases are never closed, and families are waiting to hear, no matter how much time has passed.”

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