OPP renews call for help in unsolved homicides of 4 vulnerable seniors

NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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VAUGHAN - Members of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are re-iterating a 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, OPP Interim Deputy Commissioner Paul Beesley and Chief Superintendent Rose DiMarco were joined by Detective Inspector Rob Matthews to update the ongoing investigation to try to bring clarity and a potential resolution for the families and community that have lived with unanswered questions and speculation since the late 1990s.

Beginning in December 1998, members of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) have been actively seeking more information on four unresolved homicide investigations in the OPP Huntsville Detachment 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 resided at properties that included residences advertised as 'retirement homes.'

One property was located at 970 Yearley Road and some resided at a farm property at 132 North Lancelot Rd. west of Huntsville.

Each missing person had health challenges - some had mobility issues - during their time at the properties. Their remains have never been located. 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].

QUOTES

"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." - I/Deputy Commissioner Paul Beesley, provincial commander, OPP Investigations and Organized Crime

"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." - Detective Inspector Rob Matthews, major case manager, OPP Criminal Investigation Branch

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