Aysa Hajtamiri last spoke to her sister about a year ago. They kept the phone conversation short as Hajtamiri was driving but made plans to reconnect soon.
That next phone call never happened.
Hajtamiri said that shortly after arriving home, she learned that her younger sister had been kidnapped.
Ontario Provincial Police said three men dressed in police gear snatched 37-year-old Elnaz Hajtamiri from a relative’s home in Wasaga Beach, Ont., on the evening of Jan. 12, 2022, and loaded her into a white Lexus SUV.
A year later he is still missing.
Police to give update on Wasaga Beach kidnapping after 1 year
WWE Co-CEO Stephanie McMahon Resigns As Vince Returns As Executive Chairman
Her family says they are saddened by Hajtamiri’s disappearance, but are holding out hope that she may one day be found alive.
“I know it’s been a year, but we try to keep our hope that she will be back home soon,” Aysa Hajtamiri told The Canadian Press in a phone interview from her home in Melbourne, Australia.
“We always think he’s alive, and we can see him, we can hug him.”
The Ontario Provincial Police – which is investigating the disappearance – and the family have made a public appeal for information that could help locate Elnaz Hajtamiri.
Police have also said that Hajtamiri was attacked with a frying pan in an underground parking lot in Richmond Hill, Ontario, in December 2021, weeks before she was abducted.
Her ex-boyfriend, Mohamed Lillo, 35, was charged in July on both counts. Police have said he faces charges of attempted murder, attempted murder in Hajtamiri’s disappearance in January and attempted kidnapping in the parking lot incident in December.
Canada-wide warrant issued for suspect wanted in connection with attack on Elnaz Hajtamiri
Golden Globes 2023: All the best, most stunning looks from the red carpet
York Regional Police also charged two other men in the December case.
But investigators are still searching for the three men who dressed as police and snatched Hajtamiri from her Wasaga Beach home, and they are continuing to work to find Hajtamiri.
“We will do everything in our power as police to locate Elnaz, identify and hold accountable those responsible for her abduction,” OPP Det. Martin Graham, who is leading the investigation, said in an interview.
“The police have so far, despite everyone’s best efforts, neither been able to trace him nor identify those responsible for the abduction.”
Hajtmiri’s sister said she appreciates what police have done so far, but argues they could have done more to help before the abduction took place.
She alleged that the police initially told her sister not to worry about the threats from her ex-boyfriend, claiming that the police told Hajtamiri that such things were expected during a breakup. Graham said he was not aware of the conversation between Hajtamiri and the police.
Aysa Hajtamiri said police asked her sister to find a temporary safe place after the alleged threats from her ex-boyfriend became severe, which is why her sister moved to a relative’s house in Wasaga Beach.
Quebec man charged in connection with Wasaga Beach kidnapping: OPP
Ellen DeGeneres shares fiery video of California home flooding: ‘It’s crazy’
“(Police) say they’re trying, and I trust them. I’m so far from there, the only thing I can do is trust them,” she said. I need a sister.”
Her sister said that Elnaz Hajtamiri didn’t talk much about her troubles in phone calls with her family, not wanting to worry about them.
Her sister said, “She liked to please everyone and tried to solve all the problems herself.”
Aisha Hajtamiri said that her sister is the subject of every conversation she has with her parents who live in Iran. They try to lift each other’s spirits and Elnaz talks about embracing Hajtamiri when she is one day reunited with her family.
“We believe she will return,” said Hajtmiri’s sister.
The OPP’s Graham said police are in regular contact with the family to share information about the case. While he also has hope that Hajtmiri is alive, he states that she may not be.
“My biggest hope has always been that Elnaz is found alive. But obviously with time and we’re coming up to a year, my biggest fear is that he isn’t,” he said.
“The reality is that I don’t know.”
Police are expected to provide an update on the case on Thursday, which will mark exactly one year since Hajtamiri’s abduction.
© 2023 The Canadian Press