Six years ago today, 26-year-old Emma Fillipoff spoke to Victoria police before mysteriously disappearing that night.
VicPD issued a news release Wednesday morning stating that the investigation is still ongoing by the department’s major crimes detectives.
On the evening of November 28th, 2012, officers responded to reports of a woman acting unusually in front of the Empress Hotel.
Officers found Emma upon arrival and, after a lengthy conversation with her, considered her general well-being to be fine and allowed her to leave.
A few short hours later she was reported missing. She hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
In the early stages of the subsequent investigation, officers determined that Emma may have been suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness.
“The file is still open and tips are being received with each viable tip being investigated,” said Detective Constable Dawndra Tolsma in a news release.
“We encourage anybody with any information to contact us.”
The six year mystery continues
Before her disappearance, Emma made several tearful, erratic calls to her mother asking her to fly out to Victoria and take her back to Perth.
By the time Shelley got here, however, Emma was already gone.
The second unsolved riddle revolves around a man who popped up in Gastown in 2014. There is surveillance footage of him holding a missing persons poster of Emma, claiming that she was his girlfriend.
In the past four years no one has been able to identify him.
A New Lead
One of the lone pieces of evidence in Emma’s investigation is a prepaid credit card that she had purchased the day of her disappearance, which was used five days later at a gas station in Colwood.
That changed earlier this month, however, after a news release from helpfindemmafillipoff.com stated that a witness had come forward with information on Emma.
The person made contact in summer 2018, and their information suggests that Emma was headed in the direction of Colwood, shoeless, at 5:15 a.m. on November 29th, 2012.
According to Help Find Emma, VicPD are unable to act on the tip, so a volunteer search of the area has been inspired.
The volunteer search is being spearheaded by Shelley Fillipoff and veteran search-dog handler, Kim Cooper. Kim has over 250 rescue searches for missing persons under her belt and was featured in CBC and National Geographic podcasts.
A GoFundMe campaign was set up to help fund the search (like cost of flights, accommodations, and equipment) and has recently met its goal.
Weather permitting, a search date of December 1st – 3rd has been set.
Anyone who sees Emma or has information about where she may be is asked to call VicPD’s non-emergency line at 250-995-7654, or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
