Single mom Candace Shpeley of Abbotsford was visiting friends in Surrey and was expected to pick up her three kids the following day, but she never arrived.
Twelve years after her disappearance, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) is again asking the public for any information that might aid in the investigation.
“Twelve years is a long time for a family to go without any answers as to what happened to their loved one,” said Cpl. Frank Jang of IHIT.
“We urge those with information about what happened to Candace Shpeley to do the right thing and contact IHIT.”
Jang said it is believed that Shpeley was met with foul play.
Shpeley’s family reported her missing to the Abbotsford Police Department on April 1, 2007. On the previous day, the 23-year-old had lunch with her brother at an A&W restaurant in downtown Chilliwack and drove to Surrey to visit friends.
Jang said Shpeley’s last-known whereabouts was in Surrey between 1 and 2 a.m. on April 1, 2007. Her vehicle – a 1995 green Pontiac Grand Am with licence plate 695KXD – was spotted in the area of 102 Avenue and 150 Street in Surrey earlier that night between 9:10 and 9:40 p.m.
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The vehicle was then found abandoned on April 11, 2007, in the area of the Renfrew SkyTrain station at 2911 East 17th Ave. in Vancouver.
Jang said police initiated an extensive search to find Shpeley, and the investigation was later turned over to IHIT because her disappearance was deemed to be suspicious.
Jang said Shpeley was known to frequent areas throughout the Lower Mainland, including Surrey, Langley, Chilliwack and Abbotsford.
At the time of her disappearance, she was described at approximately 5’ 1” and 116 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and a stud bar through her tongue.
Shpeley’s father, Barry, has been relentless over the years in his pursuit of finding answers to his daughter’s disappearance.
In 2016, he offered a $25,000 cash award for any information leading to an arrest and a conviction.
A Surrey man, Darryl Cole, who was a “person of interest” in the case, died in prison in July 2011 while serving a sentence for manslaughter.
He was one of the last people Candace was with before she disappeared, police have said.
Cole was serving a 13.5-year prison term for beating a man to death with a bat during a marijuana grow rip in Surrey in December 2007.
Anyone with information about Shpeley’s disappearance is asked to contact the IHIT at 1-877-551-IHIT (4448) or ihitinfo@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or solvecrime.ca
