The Ontario Provincial Police has released a new installment in its Unsolved video series, featuring updated information and previously unreleased evidence in the 1988 disappearance of Lois Hanna from Kincardine.
Hanna was last seen on the evening of July 3, 1988, in nearby Lucknow after attending a homecoming dance, where she said goodbye to her brother, Dave Hanna. A missing persons report was filed the following day after she failed to report for work.
Police say a co-worker who later entered Hanna’s home discovered what investigators have described as an unsettling scene: lights were on, the television was running, her clothes from the night before had been put away, and her purse and keys were still inside the residence. A fresh cup of tea was found on the kitchen counter near the side door, where two drops of blood were later located on the wall. Her home was locked and her vehicle remained in the driveway.
On July 6, 1988, the Ontario Provincial Police were asked to assist in the investigation. Despite extensive searches by land, water and air and hundreds of interviews over the years, Hanna has never been located.
She was 25 years old at the time of her disappearance.
The OPP says the new video includes first-hand accounts from family members, the co-worker who discovered the scene inside Hanna’s home, and investigators involved in both the original and current reviews of the case. It also features a recently assigned lead investigator who has conducted dozens of new interviews and additional polygraph examinations as part of an ongoing case review.
Police are also highlighting previously unreleased investigative details, including a report of a vehicle seen outside Hanna’s home around 3 a.m. on the night she disappeared. Witnesses described the vehicle as having round headlights, which investigators noted may indicate an older model from the 1970s. Police also reference a witness who reported hearing suspicious voices and activity near the Kincardine harbour that same night.
The OPP says advancements in DNA technology continue to be applied to evidence collected in the case, including genetic material recovered during earlier stages of the investigation.
“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. Thirty-eight years is a long time. We urge anyone with information to please come forward,” said Detective Inspector Phil Hordijk, Major Case Manager with the Criminal Investigation Branch.
Jim Hanna, Lois’s brother, said the family continues to seek answers decades later.
“To have someone gone and to not know how they left, where they are, that’s the hard part. 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,” he said.
Christine Szekely, a former co-worker who entered Hanna’s home after her disappearance, said she immediately sensed something was wrong.
“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,” she said.
The Government of Ontario is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the location of Hanna. The South Bruce OPP Crime Unit continues to lead the investigation under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
