Police revisit disappearance of Ontario woman believed to be ‘victim of foul play’

A former police detective says the disappearance of a Hamilton woman still “sticks” with him after more than two decades without resolution.

Hamilton police restated a $50,000 reward for information in the Sheryl Sheppard investigation, 25 years after she went missing.

Retired inspector Warren Korrel says he was assigned the case early in 1998 and all these years later he still thinks about what might have happened to her.

“We know there is someone out there that knows what happened to Sheryl,” Korrel said in a video statement released Thursday.

“With time and distance, my hope is someone is now willing to come forward.”

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Police say Sheppard was reported missing by her mother, Odette Fisher on Jan. 5, 1998.

Det. Sgt. Jason Cattle, who’s now working the cold case, says Sherryl was last seen on Jan. 2, 1998, by boyfriend Michael Lavoie, who she lived with at an apartment on Queenston Road.

“Mike told Sheryl’s mom that he dropped her off at an adult entertainment club in Niagara Falls and hadn’t seen or heard from her since then,” Cattle explained.

“Detectives followed up on that information and checked every adult entertainment club in Niagara Falls. No one had seen a girl matching Sheryl’s description.”

Cattle says a look over Sheppard’s east Hamilton residence “became concerning” noting her clothing and wallet were still in the apartment “as if she left with nothing.”

Detectives also revealed missing bed sheets, glass missing from a picture frame above a bed and broken glass in a box on a balcony.

“The Hamilton Police Homicide Unit still has carriage of this investigation and believes Cheryl Sheppard was a victim of foul play,” Cattle said.

Anyone with information can reach out to Hamilton police or Crime Stoppers.

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