There’s palpable fear in the neighbourhood around Church and Wellesley.At least eight people have gone missing this year from the area around Toronto’s gay village. Two were found dead. Three are still missing.Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders announced to media Friday morning that he’s called for a review of how the force handles missing persons cases. It was also the first time police confirmed that 22-year-old Tess Richey’s body was found by her own mother.While Saunders and his detectives dispelled rumors of a serial killer in the village, friends are still cancelling plans to go out. Residents tuck pepper spray into their bags and inform neighbours when they’ll be home. Strangers are contacting the neighbourhood association, volunteering safe walks home.Some information being shared about the Church and Wellesley disappearances has been misleading. A list of 11 missing people making rounds of the internet this week includes information from years ago.Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam, Abdulbasir “Basir” Faizi, and Majeed “Hamid” Kayhan – all middle aged, of similar ethnicity and “active” in the Church and Wellesley area – went missing between mid-2010 and late 2012. None were found, despite the forming of a task force called Project Houston.Of the eight that disappeared in 2017, three have already been found safely. Police “have no evidence – let me repeat, no evidence – to indicate any links between any of the missing people,” spokesperson Mark Pugash said.Chase Kincaid, 30, was last seen in August at Yonge and College. He’s still missing. So are 49-year-old Andrew Kinsman and 44-year-old Selim Esen – the subjects of Project Prism, a 51 Division task force struck in August. Kinsman disappeared in June from Winchester and Parliament; Esen disappeared in April from Yonge and Bloor.Francis Doyle, Joan Lenahan and Troy Mussington, who each ...
|
