The Ontario Provincial Police say a $100,000 reward is being offered for an Ontario woman who was abducted a year ago in the Wasaga Beach area and is still missing.
Police said on Jan. 12, 2022 at 8:32 p.m., 37-year-old Elnaz Hajtamiri was reportedly kidnapped from a family member’s home on Trailwood Place.
In a news conference on Thursday, the OPP said Hajtamiri was taken by three masked men wearing police-type clothing a year ago.
Police allege the men fled with Hajtamiri in a white 2016 to 2022 model Lexus RX 350 sport utility vehicle.
“Someone out there knows the identity of these three suspects who were involved in the kidnapping,” OPP Sgt. Martin Graham said at the news conference.
Graham said there is a $100,000 reward for information leading to locating and solving the case of Hajtamiri.
The reward is a combined total with $50,000 from the Ontario Provincial Police and $50,000 from York Regional Police.
“Her family is grieving her absence and has lived through a year with limited answers,” Graham continued. “They do not know what has happened to their daughter, their cousin, their niece or the reason for her disappearance.”
Composite sketches showing two of the three suspects have also been released, although the OPP noted the images are limited due to the masks.
The first suspect is described as approximately six feet tall, very skinny with a long narrow face. Police said he had a thick black belt with an attached handcuff pouch and holstered black gun with a magazine inside. The gun appeared to have been worn, with metal areas exposed.
The second suspect is described by police as approximately five feet nine inches tall. He is stocky with skinny legs, wearing white/cream shoes with a plastic toe
cap, cotton black gloves and in possession of imitation handcuffs.
The third suspect is described by police approximately five feet nine inches tall with a thin build. It was suspected that he had a firearm in his jacket, police said.
Weeks before the abduction, on Dec. 20, 2021, York Regional Police said officers were called to King William Crescent in Richmond Hill for reports that a woman — later identified as Hajtamiri — had been attacked and struck with a frying pan in an underground parking garage.
In April 2022, two men were charged in connection with the alleged “violent assault and attempted abduction” of Hajtamiri in Richmond Hill.
Months later in July 2022, OPP announced 35-year-old Mohamad Lilo from Brossard, Quebec had been arrested and charged with kidnapping in connection with the incident in Wasaga Beach.
Police said he has also been charged with attempted murder and attempted kidnapping in connection with the attack in Richmond Hill.
Hajtamiri is described as five-feet-three-inches tall, with a slim build and black hair that was cut to a short length before she was abducted.
“Nothing weighs more heavily on our souls than the idea that we may never know what happened to Elnaz,” said Fariba Hajtamiri, Elnaz’s mother. “We know there are people out there who have information and who may be contemplating whether to come forward. We pray that you will do the right thing and help us out of this suffering and bring justice for Elnaz.”
— With files from Global News’ Hannah Jackson
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