Emma Fillipoff
Born (1986-01-06) January 6, 1986
Perth, Canada
DisappearedNovember 28, 2012
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
StatusMissing for 11 years, 1 month and 11 days
NationalityCanadian
Parents
  • James Fillipoff (father)
  • Shelley Fillipoff (mother)

Emma Fillipoff (born January 6, 1986) is a Canadian woman who has been missing since November 28, 2012,[1] last seen in front of the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, at the age of 26.

Disappearance

Emma Fillipoff was last seen in the immediate vicinity of the Empress Hotel in Victoria between 7:15 pm and 8:00 pm on November 28, 2012. She was observed being interviewed by Victoria police. Her red 1993 Mazda MPV was found in the Chateau Victoria parking lot with almost all her belongings in it, including her passport, library card, digital camera, clothes, a pillow, assorted ornaments, laptop, and recently borrowed library books. It is believed she used the van as storage. She spoke with Chateau Victoria staff at 7:00 am on the morning of her disappearance.[2]

In June 2018, a man reported that in the early morning following Fillipoff's disappearance, he had picked up a young woman in distress matching her description in nearby Esquimalt.[3]

Timeline

Pre-disappearance

Fillipoff arrived in Victoria in the fall of 2011 from Perth, Ontario. She had brief employment at the Red Fish Blue Fish seafood restaurant in Victoria's Inner Harbour. Since the work was seasonal, Fillipoff left the job on October 31, 2012. She assured co-workers she would be back in the spring.[4]

In what police believe was preparation to move back to Ontario, Fillipoff hired a tow-truck on November 21. She rented the truck in order to move her Mazda from Sooke to the Chateau Victoria parking garage.[5] Unbeknownst to her family, Fillipoff had stayed at the Sandy Merriman House women's shelter on and off since February.[6] On November 23, Fillipoff was captured on security footage at the Victoria YMCA, entering, then leaving, then entering multiple times as if possibly avoiding someone on the outside.[6]

In the days preceding her disappearance, Fillipoff had phoned her mother in Ontario, asking if she could come home.[6] Each time her tone would quickly change and Fillipoff would then ask her mother not to come. On the final call, her mother became aware that Fillipoff had been staying at the Sandy Merriman House, and even though Fillipoff had asked her not to come, she made plans to fly out immediately. Fillipoff's last words to her mother were, "I don't know how I can face you." Her mother arrived at Sandy Merriman House at about 11:00 pm on the 28th, three hours after Fillipoff had been last seen by police at the Empress Hotel.[5]

Early on the day of November 28, Fillipoff had been captured on a 7-Eleven store video on Government Street purchasing a pre-paid cell phone.[7] The video showed her hesitating in departing the store, seemingly checking the street outside. She returned to the 7-Eleven to buy a pre-paid credit card for $200. Reportedly, she left the Sandy Merriman House at about 6:00 p.m. that day.[8] Soon after, she hailed a taxi and asked to be taken to the Victoria International Airport; however, she soon exited the taxi for lack of adequate fare, even though she had the $200 prepaid card.[6]

Minutes later, Fillipoff was seen walking barefoot in front of the Empress Hotel. An acquaintance of hers, Dennis Quay,[9] called 9-1-1 to say a woman was in severe distress outside the hotel.[10] Victoria police arrived, took Fillipoff's name, and spent 45 minutes speaking with her. Deciding that she was not a threat to herself or anyone else, they released her. Until a report surfaced in June 2018,[11] no one reported seeing her since 8:00 pm that night. Later that evening, police met Fillipoff's mother at Sandy Merriman House; by midnight Fillipoff was classified as a missing person.

Post-disappearance

Initially, the police stated that Fillipoff had last been seen "with friends several blocks away on Burdett Avenue between Blanshard and Quadra streets."[12] Investigators explored more than 200 leads, turning up minimal information.[13] Most evidence indicates she was planning to return home to Ottawa, but there was no proof that she ever left Victoria. The cell phone she bought had never been activated.

Fillipoff's credit card[13] was allegedly found on the side of the road near the Juan de Fuca Community Centre, north of where she disappeared. It was found by a stranger, whose use of the card to purchase cigarettes was tracked by police.[4][14]

Emma Fillipoff's writings

Fillipoff wrote copious poems about her time in Victoria.[7] None of it indicated that she was being stalked. Even though some of it indicated she was depressed, experts who appeared on The Fifth Estate said the writing did not have the hallmarks of suicidal ideation. According to Fillipoff's mother, however, the Sandy Merriman staff claimed that Emma Fillipoff "required both physical and medical intervention."[5]

Unrelated charges against mother and brother

In March 2016, Fillipoff's mother and brother were charged with money laundering, as well as drug and weapons offenses, after an OPP investigation. Shelley Fillipoff insisted the charges had nothing to do with the disappearance of Emma Fillipoff, saying "the one has nothing to do with the other."[15]

In November 2016, all charges were dropped against Shelley Fillipoff, clearing her of any involvement.[16]

Leads

The Campbell River Courier-Islander newspaper reported in May 2014 that Gastown, Vancouver, business owners Joel and Lori Sellen witnessed a man in their store throwing out a $25,000 missing persons reward poster for Fillipoff. The pair reported that the man said, "It's one of those missing persons posters, except she's not missing, she's my girlfriend and she ran away 'cause she hates her parents." The owners immediately called the police. Although security video captured an image of the man, he is yet to be identified as of 2022.[17]

In the summer of 2018, a witness named William came forward with new information about encountering a woman the morning after Fillipoff's disappearance. The woman matched her general description and demeanor. The report resulted in the organization of a search of the View Royal area of Victoria in December 2018.[18] The search turned up no additional clues, but another search was planned for 2019.[19] Victoria media drew information from Kimberly Bordage's podcast, The Search for Emma Fillipoff.[20][21][22]

On November 29, 2021, the ninth anniversary of her disappearance, police released additional images of Emma as well as pictures of art that she created hoping it would create new leads.[23] In November 2022, police released an age-progression image of Fillipoff, again in hopes of generating new leads.[24][25]

Green Shirt Man

In November 2023, a new initiative to find the 'Green Shirt Man' was launched, including a police sketch of the man.[26] In 2014 he was caught on security camera at a Gastown, Vancouver, store. Earlier he had told another store owner that the woman in the 'Find Emma' poster he was holding was not missing, that she was his girlfriend. The store owner immediately called the police. Victoria police now wish to contact the man.

Media coverage

Emma Fillipoff's disappearance has received extensive print/web coverage both in Canada and abroad.

In 2013, Fillipoff's disappearance was the subject of an episode of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television program, The Fifth Estate titled 'Finding Emma'.[6][27]

In 2017, her case was profiled on the podcast The Vanished.[28]

In 2020, Emma Fillipoff's disappearance was the subject of a long form series by the Canadian audio documentary series The Night Time Podcast titled 'Emma Fillipoff is Missing'. This series features interviews with her mother Shelley,[29] many of her closest friends, and the one time suspect Julien.[30] This series was the featured podcast on Apple Podcasts for the week of January 12, 2020, and appeared in the top ten of Canada's podcast charts for several days.[31]

Barefoot in the Night, a six-hour docuseries, is a behind-the-scenes look at the effort to find Emma, covering the timeline, tips, sightings, and witness accounts. It chronicles Emma's life, her mysterious disappearance from Victoria, BC in 2012, and includes interviews with those close to Emma, those involved in the official investigation, and the many other persons linked to the case. It will highlight the efforts to crowd-source the investigation and reveal the myriad ways the public has continued to contribute to the search.[32] A release date for the film is yet to be announced.[32] As of November 28, 2023 three previews have been released for the docuseries and can be viewed at Bayberry Films.[32]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Thomson, Sian. "New clue emerges in disappearance of Emma Fillipoff". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  2. ↑ "Emma Fillipoff disappeared 3 years ago, man of interest still unidentified". Victoria Buzz. 6 Jan 2016.
  3. ↑ "New lead on missing Victoria woman Emma Fillipoff sparks dog search". Victoria News. 5 Nov 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Emma is missing". Interlake Group. Retrieved 31 Jan 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Three Years After Vanishing, Where is Emma Fillipoff". Times-Colonist. 28 Nov 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Finding Emma". The Fifth Estate. CBC. 10 Apr 2013. Retrieved 31 Jan 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Help Find Emma". The Fifth Estate. CBC News. 10 Apr 2013. Retrieved 31 Jan 2015.
  8. ↑ Spalding, Derek. "Emma Fillipoff vanished, leaving a mysterious trail through Victoria". Times Colonist. Retrieved 31 Jan 2015.
  9. ↑ "Missing Woman in Victoria – EMMA FILLIPOFF, 27". Missing People Canada. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 31 Jan 2015.
  10. ↑ "Search for missing Victoria woman Emma Fillipoff spreads to Vancouver". Vancouver Sun. May 2014.
  11. ↑ "A witness came forward this summer saying he saw her the morning of Nov. 29, 2012". Victoria News. 5 Nov 2018.
  12. ↑ "'Every day is a sad day': Emma Fillipoff's mom still searching". Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  13. 1 2 Spalding, Derek. "Fillipoff's file a rare puzzler; police seeing fewer missing-persons cases". Times Colonist. Retrieved 31 Jan 2015.
  14. ↑ Tyler Hooper (November 28, 2017). "A Young Woman Was Last Seen by Police, Then Never Again". Vice. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Mother of missing woman charged with money laundering, drug, weapons offences". Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  16. ↑ "Crown drops drug, weapons charges against Lanark mother of missing woman". Retrieved 2016-11-23.
  17. ↑ "Possible break in Emma Fillipoff missing woman case". Campbell River Courier-Islander. May 2014.
  18. ↑ "A witness came forward this summer saying he saw her the morning of Nov. 29, 2012". Victoria News. 5 Nov 2018.
  19. ↑ "Cadaver search for Emma Fillipoff turns up no traces of missing Perth woman". Inside Ottawa Valley. 6 Dec 2018.
  20. ↑ "The Search for Emma Fillipoff". Kimberly Bordage. 2 Nov 2018.
  21. ↑ "Where did Emma Fillipoff go? Mom hopes new lead sheds light on 2012 disappearance". Victoria Times-Colonist. 7 Nov 2018.
  22. ↑ "Fresh lead in six-year-old cold case of missing Perth woman, Emma Fillipoff, prompts new search of Victoria in December". Inside Ottawa Valley. 8 Nov 2018.
  23. ↑ "New Emma Fillipoff photos released on 9-year anniversary of her disappearance". Vancouver Island. 2021-11-29. Retrieved 2022-08-02.
  24. ↑ "Updated drawing of Emma Fillipoff released, 10 years after she disappeared". Victoria Times Colonist. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  25. ↑ "Mother of Perth, Ont. woman who disappeared in B.C. 10 years ago hopes new sketch helps find daughter". Ottawa. 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
  26. ↑ "Upcoming docuseries gives 'behind-the-scenes look' at efforts to find Victoria's Emma Fillipoff". Vancouver Island. 2023-11-27. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  27. ↑ "Finding Emma". CBC. 7 November 2014.
  28. ↑ "EPISODE 102: Emma Fillipoff". The Vanished Podcast. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  29. ↑ "Shelley Fillipoff, Mother of Missing Women, blames son for cocaine and weapons found in her home". CBC. 11 August 2016.
  30. ↑ "Emma Fillipoff Is (still) Missing". Vicnews. 22 Nov 2017.
  31. ↑ "Canadian podcast charts". iTunescharts.net. 24 Jan 2020.
  32. 1 2 3 Ferguson, Hollie (2022-11-25). "Film preview about missing Victoria woman, Emma Fillipoff, set to debut 10 years later". Vancouver Island Free Daily. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
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