NO NEW LEADS, CLUES IN MISSING MUSKOKA ‘MURDER’ INVESTIGATION
VAUGHAN — A police case involving a missing and presumably murdered Muskoka family is so cold an iceberg would be warmer.
Some are saying today’s OPP announcement about the four deceased was much ado about nothing new.
At least one CBC reporter covering the news conference said the same.
Stumped provincial police are desperate for fresh leads.
And they think you may know something or may have forgotten something.
And so, with some fanfare, they are reaching out yet again.
They say they are re-iterating their call for the public to provide information regarding the disappearance and deaths of four seniors from two Muskoka-area properties.
At a news conference today, July 25, they gave an update on the ongoing investigation to bring clarity and a potential resolution for the families and community that have lived with unanswered questions and speculation since the late 1990s.
OPP Interim Deputy Commissioner Paul Beesley and Chief Superintendent Rose DiMarco were joined by Detective Inspector Rob Matthews.
But they offered no new leads or clues in their investigation dubbed “Project Sexton.”
Beginning in December 1998, members of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) began seeking more information on four unresolved homicide investigations in the Huntsville area.
Police believe 69-year-old Ralph Bernard Grant; 77-year-old Joan Dorothy Lawrence; 70-year-old John Leroy Crofts; and 89-year-old John James Semple were last seen alive when they were living at properties that included residences advertised as “retirement homes.”
One property was located at 970 Yearley Rd., and some resided at a farm property at 132 North Lancelot Rd. west of Huntsville.
Police say each missing person had health challenges — some had mobility issues — during their time at the properties.
Their remains have never been located.
However, police added these properties have since been sold and the current owners have no connection to this ongoing investigation.
Rewards for information have been posted since early 1998 for each victim and remain actively in place.
Anyone with new information can call a dedicated missing persons hotline toll-free at 1-877-934-6363 (1-877-9-FINDME) in Canada only or 1-705-330-4144 from outside Canada. You can also submit information by e-mail at [email protected].
“Police rely on mobilizing citizens and witnesses – regardless of where they live today – as yet another way to help victims’ families find resolution. We are relentless in our investigations to ensure the culprits are brought to justice,” said Beesley in a release.
“We are confident that people who lived or worked in the Huntsville area when these four vulnerable victims went missing have information to help us resolve this case. We are now providing another opportunity for them to bring crucial information forward,” added Matthews.
