HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1997-03-19, Page 1VOL. 124Wit'. 12
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19 1997
650 INCLUDES" G.S.T. •
er pleads for information
reward offered in Hanna case
by. Ron Wasskink
A mother's sobs wracked a
press conference' room,,as she
made a plea to. the public to
help find ;her daughter.
Olive Hanna spoke to.
reporters in Kincardine in a
joint press conference with.the --
OPP last Thursday. Police and
the Hanna family announced
that a $50,000' reward was
being offered for information
leading to the location of Lois..
Hanna, who hai,been- missing
alrriest nine years. , .
The Hanna. family.is pro
viding half the reward . money,
with the province offering the
• other $25,000.
Appearing ;extremely ner
vous. and emotional in her first
appearance•,in front Of media.
cameras since her daughter's
disappearance, Hanna made a
brief statement", barely able to
finish tier plea 'before breaking
down 'in her son,, Jim''s arms: .
III y.daughter Lois has. . �
"been missing for nearly nine
Years, Lois . is my only daugh
ter and :1 know that, she.
wouldn'tleave without telling
hie or the, boys.
"One weekend, she was with;
us:, and the next morning She
`gone - vanished without a
trace. She was 25 when she.
let and now she will be 34.
``1 am appealing to anyone
who could help find, my, daugh-.
ter It hasbeen lonely and sad
time without. her
"Please help me: find -my':
daughter.:.,
Lois Hanna, of Kincardine, •
was last ;seen .;late -Sunday
night, July 3, 1988, leavinga
dance.at the Lucknow arena. •
• Pollee. believe Hanna was
wearing a peach` colored, cot-,
ton* nightgown and matching •
housecoat the night .she disap-.
Oared. , •
Detective Sergeant : Al
Robertson, said .Police inter-
• viewed mor than, 250 people
and "As yet there remains no
explanation for Lois' disap-
pearance."
Though .theme is noconclu-':
sive• evidence,` investigators
believe there, is a strong posse
hility "Hanna Was. the victim of-
foul play.
Police are appealing. to . the
public for inft rmation, no Mat-
ter ;how insignificant they
think* it may seem, that may
'help solve the case.
"Investigators believe that -
This 'passport photo of
Lois Hanna was taken
• about 4 Months before
she disappeared on July
3,1988. ' . •
any person responsible for
Lois' 'disappearance would
have been•.undera great dealof
stress immediately following
the incident~
"Someone close tothat per-,
•
change in behavioral patterns;
possiblyy absence from work.
• .The person may have experi-.
enced a change in health, and
• demonstrated excessive drug
or alcohol use."' ..
Robertson said., police sus-
' pect ft5u1 play "for the lack of
any reason For Lois`to go•,miss-
ing,
He said she' was well liked
in .•the''comtnunity, that she was
loyal to her friends, particular-
ly her family and her mother.
"There's.. just no . other loge
cal,•explanation, for .her disap-
pearance. There's, been no con-- .
• tact, absolutely none, in the
_.. past eight years withany fami
ly member, nomovement in
any, of her bank accounts, any
identification:" , -
Police are baffled.
"She has vanished without.a
,word."
He said police have contin
tied their investigation *Since •
1988 and as new leads have •
come 'in, some as late as July,
son would have•. noticed a- on the' anniversary: of her dis
appearance, -police • decided to
reopen the investigation.
-A team of new,•experienced
investigators, including;
Kincardine OPP Detective Bill
McKeag (whohas been on : the
case since' day one), was.
brought 'in full-time.; last:.
October "to have -a new look•
to see if we have missed ' any-
thing."
Said. Robertson, "We
strongly believe there is some.
body out there in° the public
who has a piece of information
that iscritical to the investiga-
tion that we're missing. We
• will do .anything to solve this
'case and sometimes- it may
take a , moti Kation of :some.
money for someone• to come
forWar'' -
' He" said he believes .police
,are. closer now than eight years
ago to solving the case. •
•"We've learned a lot of new .:
'information, 'even though it is
eight and a .half years later. •
•turn to page 2
Olive Hanna (centre) makes a public plea for information about• her daughter Lois
who has been missing•since July 3,1988. Mira. Hanna isflanked by her San, Jim, on
the left, and Detective Sergeant Al Robertson of the Ontario Provincial Police. The,
Hanna family and the OPP held a joint press conference last week to announce a
$50,000 reward In the case. (Wassink photo) •
public . l le
for help
'OPP investigating -the disappear-
ance of Lois Hanna. over eight
years ago have.issued a plea forthe
public's help.
They are requesting that anyone
. who took pictures - stills or videos.
- of the 'Sunday afternoon and
evening events, that were part of
Lucknow's 1988 reunion, dig them
up and loan them tothe the investigaat-„
ing team.
;Detective Sergeant Al: Robertson
told the Sentinel las#.Friday that it
doesn't matter if you have the neg-
atives.•"Even' if they, think they are
of,no' importance, we want to -look
at thet," said Robeitson.. What
may seem trivial to the, public could
be. a : very important piece' :ofthe
puzzle.
Please find P
your Pictures` and
,
drop them off at the ;Town Hall.
Simply Make sure your name,,
address •and phone .number, are .on
them and.: the. :pictures will.' be
returned:
Within. '24 . hours.; of last:
Thursday's "Press conference • by.
'OPP and -the Hanna . family, two
dozen,tips were received, said OPP
Detective Bill McKeag,• who'has
been on..the canna case since day
one.
"We've learned a, lot of things
we didn't know in ;1988," said
McKeag. About' ;300. people have
been .'interviewed' inconnection
with the ..mysterious: disappearance
• of Lois Hanna. > , :.'
Please, ,take the :time now to
. review'your old pictures:.
Dungannon
x an dies
accident
A•'27 year. -old :Dungannon . man
was killed in a snowmobile acci-
dent in'Burks Fallson Saturday."
Michael Pentland" was .'driving
his snowmobile on the Seguin Trail.
in Montietb Township at 30 p.m:
when it collided, head-on, with
another snowmobile..
The collision occurred at.., the.
crest of a hill:
John Havlzk, ' 32, of
Campbellville, 'was .the . driver of
the ,Other snowmobile. He received
minor injuries and was taken to
hospital in. Parry Sound.
•