Lois Hanna vanished into oblivion on a warm July night in 1988. There has not been a single trace of the popular 25-year-old Kincardine woman in almost 38 years.
New evidence shared in 1988 disappearance of Kincardine woman
According to police, Hanna was last seen around 11:45 p.m. on Sunday, July 3, 1988, at the big Homecoming Dance in Lucknow. Her brother Dave was the last person to report seeing her as she walked away. At the time, he had no idea it would be the last time he would see his sibling. When Hanna failed to show up for work the next day, alarm bells went off. Now, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) investigators are again looking at the mysterious case and revealing new information they had previously withheld.
What OPP detectives report
On the night Hanna vanished, a vehicle was seen parked outside her house around 3 a.m. What struck detectives was that the vehicle had round headlights. Vehicles in the 1980s typically featured square headlights, meaning the suspicious car was probably an older 1970s model. In addition, that same evening, a credible witness told police they heard suspicious voices and activity at the Kincardine harbour.
Detectives say they have conducted 45 new interviews and also two new polygraph tests. On the Monday after she was last seen, one of Hanna's co-workers went to her home but there was no sign of her. The scene was chilling.
"The bathroom window was opened a tiny bit, so I was able to fit through that window and enter her house. When my feet hit the tub, I was immediately overcome with a sense of dread. I knew something was wrong," co-worker Christine Szekely said. Szekely said the lights and TV were on, Hanna's clothes from the night before were put away, her purse and keys were untouched, and there was a fresh cup of tea sitting on the kitchen counter by the side door. Hanna's car was in the driveway.
Nothing appeared out of the ordinary — at first. Police later discovered two drops of blood on the wall. Investigators say the two drops of blood produced a male profile through DNA technology.
Hanna was an unlikely victim
On July 6, 1988, the now-defunct Kincardine Police requested the OPP's assistance in the investigation. Despite hundreds of interviews and exhaustive searches that covered hundreds of acres by land, water and air, Lois Hanna has never been found. She did not lead a high-risk lifestyle, and her family described her as a kind, fun person to be around with a wicked sense of humour. As the only girl in the family, she was special to everyone.
"To have someone gone and to not know how they left, where they are, that's the hard part," her brother Jim Hanna said in a new OPP release. "At this point in time and to give the family some peace, if we could just have Lois back that would be enough. If we could just go to bed at night and know Lois is with Mom and Dad, that would be enough."
Reward for information offered
The OPP have released a new documentary entitled Vanished Lois Hanna: Unsolved, with never-before-seen evidence and witness accounts. The documentary is part of the service's Unsolved video series. "The OPP is committed to investigating the disappearance of Lois Hanna. We have dedicated resources to this case, and with continued advancements in DNA, we remain hopeful that we will learn what happened to Lois," Det. Insp. Phil Hordijk said. "Thirty-eight years is a long time. We urge anyone with information to please come forward."
The Ontario government is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the location of Hanna. Anyone with information is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.
