Woman abducted in Wasaga Beach, Ont. was attacked weeks earlier, cousin says
CBC
A woman who police say was abducted by three men in Wasaga Beach, Ont. earlier this month was also attacked in a separate incident just weeks before she was taken, her cousin says.
On top of that, 37-year-old Elnaz Hajtamiri had reason to believe she was being watched after tracking devices were found on a car she had been leasing, according to her cousin.
Those are just some of the new details Hajtamiri's family is sharing about her life in the period before she went missing. The family is working with investigators and pleading for help from the public as police continue to search for her, 16 days after she was taken.
"It's been devastating ... The family has been kind of crushed by this," said the cousin. "It feels as if [our] lives have stopped in this moment."
CBC News is not identifying the cousin, who lives in the U.S., out concern for her safety.
Hajtamiri's cousin said the first attack happened on the evening of Dec. 21, when two masked men jumped Hajtamiri in the parking garage of her Richmond Hill condo building, and violently beat her with a frying pan. York Regional Police confirmed to CBC News that investigators have been "actively investigating" the assault.
"That [attack] had caused a massive gash in her head. She had about 35 to 40 stitches. It was quite gruesome," the cousin said.
The cousin also said in the course of their investigation, police found a tracking device attached to Hajtamiri's car — and it wasn't the first time that had happened.
Two tracking devices had previously been discovered underneath her Lexus by workers at a dealership, the cousin said, when she brought it in for service.
"That is obviously very jarring for her. She was terrified for her life," said the cousin.
CBC News has not been able to confirm details on the trackers, but has independently confirmed her car was serviced around the time of the attack.
According to the cousin, the first attack left Hajtamiri so shaken that she went to stay with relatives at a home on Trailwood Place in Wasaga Beach, which is a small town on the southern shores of Georgian Bay approximately 145 kilometres north of Toronto.
That's where she was abducted by three men who were dressed in police gear and claimed to have a warrant to arrest her on Jan. 12 around 8:30 p.m., investigators with Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said last week.
Det.-Insp. Matt Watson said the suspects overpowered the homeowner and abducted Hajtamiri, then took off in a white Lexus RX SUV.
Thunder Bay, Ont., police chief Darcy Fleury says the proposed police budget for 2026 is not a “wish list” for the service.
Sexual assault survivor calls for accountability after police comments left her feeling ‘humiliated’
An Ontario woman who regularly shared her experiences as a sexual assault survivor at police training courses says she’s ending her relationship with the Ontario Police College and is raising concerns about what she and several experts say are harmful biases among some officers and a lack of accountability from the college.
Provincial officials will meet with St. Mary’s town council on Monday, after high winds tore the side of an abandoned fish sauce plant — but the town’s mayor is also calling on the federal government for help.
Get those snow shovels ready.
An independent police watchdog agency is investigating a fatal "police-involved" shooting that occurred on Neqotkuk, formerly known as Tobique First Nation, in northwestern New Brunswick, Sunday evening.
Finding school too overwhelming, 17-year-old Lily Boucher Rodriguez stopped going altogether after almost two years of intermittent attendance.
Thousands of Iranian Canadians and their supporters marched down Vancouver's West Georgia Street in solidarity with protesters in Iran on Sunday.
Beekeepers on Prince Edward Island are sharing concerns about the bee population, as hives struggle through changing weather conditions.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is considering sending soldiers to Greenland for military exercises with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens tariffs on European nations unless they let him purchase and control the semiautonomous island.
An orangish-pink glow painted the eastern sky where elders gathered in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, to welcome the sun after a polar night where the solar system’s only star hung below the horizon for 42 days.
Environment Canada has issued a yellow snowfall warning for Queens and Kings Counties, P.E.I. for Sunday evening, lasting until noon on Monday.
Two London-area hockey stars say they're ecstatic to be living out their childhood dreams of representing Canada on the world stage at the Winter Olympics in Italy next month.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada is "concerned" about U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose increasing tariffs on several European countries until they accede to his demand to purchase and control Greenland.