CANADA Canada - Cindy Halliday, 17, Barrie, Ont, 20 April 1992

If Jackie slows down, she thinks about who isn't here: her daughter Cindy Halliday. Cindy's life was cut short by an unknown killer when she was just 17. And the person responsible for her murder is still at large today, 25 years later. The OPP will pay $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible.

Cindy went missing on Easter Monday, April 20, 1992, after visiting a friend living in a halfway house in Barrie. Growing up in Waverley, a small village between Hillsdale and Orr Lake on Hwy. 93, intersected by Hwy. 27, the teen often counted on the kindness of strangers and good timing to hitch a ride to Barrie or Midland when she needed to travel. Her older brother and sister had also used the same mode of transportation in their teenage years without incident. But Cindy never returned home that Easter Monday. Jackie reported her missing to Barrie Police the following day, April 21, 1992.

Witnesses say they saw Cindy get into a car, described as a light colour Dodge Diplomat or Chrysler LeBaron, between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on April 20 at the Hasty Market on Hwy. 27 in Midhurst.
In May, her wallet and red, white, and blue jacket were found on Flos Concession 2 (Old Second South), just around the corner from where her remains would be discovered a month later in a reforestation area off Horseshoe Valley Road. Spring weather and animals had destroyed most of the body … all that remained was Cindy's skull.
Twenty-five years later, the OPP continue to actively investigate Cindy's homicide and need the public's help. It's never too late to provide a tip, even a detail you may think is of little value, said Detective Staff Sgt. Rob Lake in the OPP's criminal investigation branch.
"The details they may believe are insignificant could spur the investigation forward. And that's what we're really looking for is any information," he said

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1992 was a year Barrie can’t forget.

It was in the spring of this year that the remains of Cindy Halliday were discovered in a wooded area off Horseshoe Valley Road. The 17-year-old Waverley teen had visited a friend in Barrie on Easter Monday, April 20. She planned to hitchhike up Highway 27 and had accepted a ride near Finlay Road in Midhurst, but she never made it home.

In May, her wallet and jacket were found on Flos Concession 2 (Old Second South), just around the corner from where her remains would be discovered a month later in a reforestation area. Spring weather and animals had destroyed most of the body … all that remained was Cindy’s skull.

At the time Cindy went missing, Kristen French had been abducted days earlier in St. Catharines, and people were caught up in the story of a good student who had reportedly been abducted on her way home from school. Cindy’s story was different. She had dropped out of high school, hitchhiked often, and hung around with some people many parents would consider unsavoury.

Then The Advance published a story about the kind of person Cindy was. She loved hockey, had a passion to one day become a social worker, and had strong connection with her family.

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“Someone must have had a friend of family member who came home [April 20, 1992] and was acting differently, or had injuries to their hands or face that they couldn’t explain.”

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TIMELINE

• April 20, 1992 – Cindy leaves downtown Barrie at 5:30 p.m. and says she is hitchhiking home to Waverley. This is four days after the abduction of Kristen French.

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• May 3, 1992 – Cindy’s wallet is discovered by a man collecting bottles in a wooded area off Horseshoe Valley Road, west of Highway 400.

• May 6, 1992 – OPP’s canine unit is used to assist police in scouring the area. Nothing is discovered.

• May 16, 1992 – Following the extensive search, a man picking morals near the area finds her red, white and blue jacket. Police say the jacket could not have been overlooked during the search and must have been placed there after.

• June 16, 1992 – Skeletal remains are found by a man walking his dog near in a reforestation area where her wallet was discovered weeks earlier.

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Sept. 11, 1992 – An OPP profiler joins the case to create a description of the killer’s personality. She says the murderer could be a man in his late 20s or early 30s, who lives in the area and may have known Cindy. The profile indicates he would have been showing emotional and physical signs of severe personality changes after the murder.

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• March 19, 1993 – Witnesses come forward to say they saw a teen fitting Cindy’s description accept a ride in a 1979-1981, light-coloured Chrysler LeBaron or Dodge Diplomat from the Hasty Market in Midhurst.

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[h=2]Ontario police hope social media can shed light on cold cases[/h]

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Police are turning to social media in an effort to generate leads in unsolved homicides and missing person’s cases in central Ontario.

Ontario Provincial Police and local police say four people believed to be victims of foul play in or near Barrie, Ont., will be profiled in episodic videos posted to a dedicated page on Facebook called Simcoe County Case Files.

Police have also wrapped a cube van with case information to direct viewers to the Facebook page and encourage tips. The van will be strategically parked in various locations throughout the Greater Simcoe County area.

Seventeen-year-old Cindy Halliday of Waverley, Ont., was last seen hitchhiking near Midhurst, Ont., on April 20, 1992. She had been visiting a friend in Barrie, and her remains were discovered in a wooded area of Springwater Township on June 17, 1992.

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[h=1]The Cindy Halliday Homicide - Episode 1 | Simcoe County Case Files[/h]

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[h=1]Barrie police, OPP ready to reveal 'significant update' in unsolved mystery[/h] [h=2]Social-media campaign used to generate tips[/h]

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Police will announce a “significant update” tomorrow on a lengthy investigation into an unsolved missing persons and/or homicide case profiled on a special social media campaign launched last year.

Barrie police and the OPP are expected to reveal the case during a media conference at Barrie police headquarters April 18 at 11 a.m.

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“Social media has proven to be an asset in investigations,” Const. Sarah Bamford said.

The featured cases in the campaign are:
• The murder of 17-year-old Cindy Halliday from Waverley, near Midland. She was last seen hitchhiking near Midhurst April 20, 1992. She had been visiting a friend in Barrie. Her body was found in a wooded area in Springwater on June 17, 1992

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