Police are appealing to the public to help find a missing woman who was abducted from a home in Wasaga Beach three months ago.
Thirty-seven-year-old Elnaz Hajtamiri, who also goes by the surname Tamiri, has not been seen since the evening of Jan. 12.
Ontario Provincial Police say three Black males, dressed in police gear, but not actual uniforms, forced their way into a home on Trailwood Place in Wasaga Beach and abducted Hajtamiri.
Hajtamiri was staying at that residence with relatives.
The suspects fled with Hajtamiri in what is believed to be a white, 2016-2022 model Lexus RX sport utility vehicle, police said.
Police have yet to locate the suspect vehicle or identify the owner of the vehicle.
Investigators have linked the abduction with an assault against Hajtamiri that occurred in Richmond Hill less than a month earlier.
On Dec. 20 2021, Hajtamiri was attacked and struck with a frying pan in an underground car park on King William crescent, police said. She was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Two male suspects fled the scene in a vehicle which has been identified as stolen from the night before from North York. It was recovered by police within hours of the assault but no arrests have been made.
Police believe the same suspects are either involved in Hajtamiri’s abduction or can identify those who are responsible. Both of the suspects are described as between 25 to 30 years old and surveillance photos of them have been released by police.
“It is at this point that despite appeals for information on the vehicle from Hajtamiri’s abduction or any person involved in either incident, there has been no information to provide either a motive or a rationale for these crimes,” Det. Insp. Martin Graham said at a virtual press conference Tuesday morning.
Graham added that no ransom demand has been received by police.
He also noted that police are aware of an individual who had previously had a relationship with Hajtamiri and has been charged with criminal harassment on Jan. 21 in Wasaga Beach.
Details of the incident have not been released.
That accused was released following a bail hearing and is scheduled to appear in court today.
Hajtamiri’s mother, Fariba, who lives in Iran, released a video message in Farsi pleading with the public to contact police with any information about her daughter’s abduction.
“I beg of you as a mother to guide us and tell us anything you know. Please, I beg of you to help us. We are living a desperate life,” she said when translated to English.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact them either through a dedicated tip line at 1-833-728-3415, their local police service or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
“We especially want to reach community members in the Greater Toronto Area and Montreal, Quebec, where there are significant populations of people who speak both Farsi and Arabic. We need your help to find Elnaz and bring a resolution to her family,” Graham said.
