New lead emerges one year after Barrie woman’s disappearance

Police have given a glimmer of hope to the family of a Barrie woman who vanished without a word over a year ago.

Police released a new development on Tuesday, posting on social media they received information Autumn Shaganash was spotted on June 21 in the area of Regina Street and McIntyre Street in North Bay.

They urge anyone with information about the Shaganash sighting in North Bay to call the police at 705-497-5555 and press 5 to speak with an officer.

Barrie police have yet to substantiate the reported sighting or provide additional information.

Shaganash disappeared on June 10, 2023, while walking with a friend as the pair headed to Barrie’s lakeshore for the airshow. Her friend told police he was ahead of her and became momentarily distracted, and when he turned around, she was gone.

Investigators said she “vanished into thin air without a sound or cry for help.”

Police say video surveillance of the area showed Shaganash and her friend on Shelley Lane heading towards Sunnidale Road around 10 a.m. – at the same time, an ALS Walk with dozens of people in attendance was underway.

Up to this point, police have followed up on multiple tips, but none have helped solve the case.

The Barrie Police Service received information that Autumn Shaganash was seen in North Bay on June 21 in the area of Regina Street and McIntyre Street East. (Supplied)Meanwhile, Shaganash’s family is desperate for answers, appealing to the public on Monday for information on her whereabouts.

Loved ones told CTV News Shaganash was on the phone for an hour the morning she went missing, but because the call was made using an app-to-app, there is no phone number for the person she spoke with.

“It’s just absurd to me that no one knows who it was,” said her cousin, Kimberly Moore.

Police have posted a $50,000 reward for information that confirms Shaganash’s current location.

She is five feet three inches tall with long dark hair and brown eyes.

Her family has said there is no way she would have willingly left without a word.

“Someone is not letting her come back home,” said Moore in an interview with CTV News. “I really believe that somebody is holding her from her family and not letting her be on her phone.”

“She would not leave home like this. She would not leave her nieces,” said her sister Lili Moore.

The family has vowed to continue searching for the 27-year-old woman and hopes someone with information comes forward.