It’s been five months since anyone has seen 48-year-old Wendy Lafortune.
She was last seen on May 1, walking in front of the Olivera Building at 721 Lasalle Boulevard.
Her daughters, 16 and 20, miss her terribly.
So does the rest of the family, said her sister, Lorry Lafortune. And while Wendy and their family had struggles, they all just want her home, she told Sudbury.com. “She’s so fun, chatty, kind and compassionate,” said Lafortune.”We’re missing our heart.”
It was when she didn’t come home for Mother’s Day that Wendy’s family got worried. Though Wendy would leave her mother’s house for a few days at a time, hit a party and binge on drugs, she always came home, said Lafortune.
“She would disappear, but she would always be in contact with us, and she would never miss Mother’s Day, she’d always come home to see my mom.”
They reported her missing on May 10.
When she disappeared, Wendy was only five days out of a recovery program, and to everyone’s knowledge, still wasn’t using drugs, said her sister. Lafortune said she was making plans for a long-term recovery program.
Lafortune feels Wendy used substances to self-medicate for an undiagnosed mental illness, and in many ways, grief.
Wendy’s first child, Alexis, died of meningitis at age four. Then, three years after she became a grandmother, Wendy’s grandchild died of a rare disease.
She struggled, but she always did her best, said Lafortune.
The investigation
Handling the investigation is Det.-Const. Clee Lieverse. With the Greater Sudbury Police for the last seven years, he told Sudbury.com police are still receiving tips — “not daily but regularly” — and “working on everything as it comes in.”
“From the police standpoint, we're continuing to monitor our usual investigative channels, for example, like medical records, if anything's popping up with someone's health card, or things like that,” said Lieverse. “And that's really monitoring those items and then addressing any tips in following those up as they come in.”
There have been two major ground searches so far, said Lieverse, which he said involves multiple officers, multiple specialty units, and drones.
Wendy's sister told Sudbury.com those searches took place where Wendy was last seen, and an area near Percy Street in Val Caron, when a tip received told them her remains might be there.
Lieverse said there have been between six and eight minor searches, involving a “handful of officers” and a smaller geographic area.
When asked about her cellphone use before she went missing, Lieverse said he could not comment.
He said challenges in this case include the timeline between when Wendy was last seen and when she was reported missing, as video surveillance doesn’t hold recordings for long, and that Wendy was part of a certain “demographic.”
“She is a user, which is difficult, because a lot of times the people with that information just don't want to come to us, and it's a hurdle,” he said. “I think it's a hurdle we've worked with, but it is still a hurdle.”
He also notes that she didn’t regularly use social media, and her finances were cash-based.
“There's a number of lifestyle factors that just make it a little bit harder,” he said, noting this is one of the most extensive and longest-lasting cases he’s worked.
Lieverse confirmed GSPS obtained DNA samples on Sept. 24, to be sent to the RCMP’s National Missing Persons DNA program which compares it to remains across the country that can’t be identified.
He said taking the samples at this point was within “the timeframe it would normally occur,” as it is a costly endeavour.
“The vast majority (of cases) are resolved well before this period of time,” said Lieverse. “It is around this time, in that six month-ish window, that we would upload to that database, because it's also the kind of time where your likelihood of being able to identify remains increases.”
Lieverse said they are still relying on tips in the case, and following up on both first-hand and second-hand accounts of her whereabouts.
He said every tip is followed up on. “It’s got to be pretty far-fetched for us not to look at it at all,” he said.
Everything else, he said, is followed as far as they can go. “If it's got any possibility of being true, we follow it up and we follow it as far as we can.”
Lieverse said police still want information. “We're hoping that someone with that right piece of information comes forward, whether they give us a call directly, or go through Crime Stoppers.”
Lieverse assured Sudbury.com that the call to Crime Stoppers is completely anonymous, and when he receives a tip, there is no identifying information whatsoever. If someone is hesitant to call police with information, this is the way to do so without endangering yourself.
You can submit a tip online here, or call Crime Stoppers at 705-222-8477 or toll free 1-800-222-8477.
But until there is another tip, or a sighting, Wendy’s family has to sit and wait.
That’s the hard part, said Lafortune, the waiting.
She told Sudbury.com she receives tips from friends and family every day, and she’s grateful, but also, there is the pain that follows when they don’t pan out.
“It’s not knowing, not knowing if she is dead or if someone has her, is hurting her,” said Lafortune. “But we miss her, and we won’t rest until we find her.”
Jenny Lamothe covers vulnerable and marginalized communities for Sudbury.com