Found Deceased Canada - Ms Fatemeh Abdolali, 35, Vancouver, 26 Feb 2021

[Empirical_Scientist]

Ms. Fatemeh Abdolali was last seen on February 26, 2021 near Marine Dr. and Capilano Rd. in North Vancouver, BC. A week later, on Mar 5, RCMP declare a dead-end in their missing-person investigation: North Vancouver RCMP - Renewed plea for public assistance to locate Fatemeh Abdolali, asking the public's assistance in the matter.

She is described as:

• 35 years old
• Long, dark hair
• Brown eyes
• 5'3" tall

Wearing:

• Light pink sweater
• Grey/white walking shoes
• Carrying a black shopping bag

According to the release, Abdolali's purse and ID were found in Heywood Park. Thus, she must have walked along Marine Dr. from Capilano Rd., where she was last seen around noon on Feb 26, to the park -- a walk of about 20 min, as per Google Maps. Too, the RCMP have reportedly reviewed any video footage they were able to collect, but to no avail in uncovering any indications for foul play or otherwise.

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

Abdolali has impressive credentials -- she is a scientist and researcher currently pursuing a PostDoc at UBC (since Dec 2020). Given her publications, I conjecture she is intelligent, studious, successful; the academic type. Given her academic background, her peers must be mostly academics. Given her ethnicity and provenance (Persian from Iran), she must be connected with the rather extensive North Vancouver Persian community.

What could have happened? Here's my thoughts on some top possibilities, which have the low probabilities at present:

1. Lost due to mental health
The RCMP have not reported on any mental health issues Abdolali may have. They must have interviewed peers and other acquaintances to inquire on stress, depression, etc., which are common factors that may lead one to escape reality. At present, there is no reported evidence that Abdolali has mental health issues. Thus, she couldn't be missing as a result of that.

2. Suicide
Suicide might be excluded with high probability at this stage since there have been no reported warning signs. The academia as a trigger could be excluded, since Abdolali is obviously quite successful and reportedly passionate about her scientific work. Furthermore, given the extensive search, there is no indication that police are to search for a body.

3. Homicide
Currently, there is no evidence of foul play, as per the RCMP update. One possibility is Abdolali may have had the misfortune of running into someone at the Heywood Park, where her purse and ID were discovered, who may have committed a crime. Another possibility is someone may have been stalking her, followed her, ceased the opportunity to confront her at Heywood Park, away from traffic, and the situation evolved into a crime. Again, there is no evidence of either scenario at present. Too, her circle of peers are academics and potentially local Persian-Canadian fellow. There is no obvious motive for a member of either group to want Abdolali gone if we were to conjecture that such member committed the crime (first or second degree): Academically, envy is a motive, but with very low chances of evolving into crime. Socially, some male from her community in North Van could have had passion as a motive, but there is no evidence or indication by RCMP at present that they have expanded their investigation into interviewing acquaintances and peers.

4. Lost in the park while hiking
Maybe Abdolali, who had likely been walking for the last 20 minutes, decided to digress and take a walk through the Heywood Park to get to her destination (home? where does she reside?). The park goes uphill from Marine Dr. along the Ravine Walkway, thus it would be more of an easy hike up a slight slope. Perhaps she got lost, fainted, was attacked by a wild animal, etc. along the way? There is reportedly extensive search going on around the area, but no such evidence has been discovered.

Why walk?
There is no info provided as to where she resided in North Vancouver. We don't know why she chose to walk from Marine @ Capilano (instead of taking the bus, which runs along Marine Dr.) -- perhaps to escape an enclosed space (and reduce the risk of contracting covid-19), all the while enjoying a walk on a nice day?

If you live in the Greater Vancouver area and run across someone who looks like Abdolali, please call 911.

 

[dotr]

North Vancouver RCMP renew appeal to find woman missing for more than a week - Vancouver Is Awesome

Fatemeh Abdolali has been missing since Feb. 26. Police are renewing their plea for the public's assistance. @nvanrcmp via Twitter

''North Vancouver RCMP are renewing their plea for the public’s assistance in helping to locate a woman who’s been missing since last Friday.
Fatemeh Abdolali, 35, was last seen around 12:20 p.m. on Feb. 26 near Marine Drive and Capilano Road, according to police.

She’s described as having long, dark hair, brown eyes and standing five-three.

Abdolali was last seen wearing a light pink sweater, grey/white walking shoes and carrying a black shopping bag.''

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

Mar 6, CTV: Police look for leads on missing 35-year-old woman after 'extensive searches' in North Vancouver

"Our Missing Person Unit has now taken conduct of this file," said DeVries in a statement.

"We are concerned for her wellbeing and would really like to find her," he said.

RCMP say that there is no indication that foul play is involved in her disappearance.

According to RCMP, investigators have gathered video footage from the areas where Abdolali was last seen, and conducted “extensive searches of the surrounding area.”

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

Abdolali's personal site summarizing academic work & interests, with some links to external profiles: Fatemeh Abdolali's homepage

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

Facebook community page: Help Find Fatemeh Abdolali - Missing from North Vancouver

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

In addition to my comments above, another plausible hypothesis is abduction. (I exclude kidnapping, given no information on Abdolali's wealth as well as lack of contact by the kidnappers for any ransom.)

Abduction is an avenue to consider since her purse + IDs had been left behind. Perhaps Abdolali did that intentionally as a sign of her being abducted and forced into some vehicle behind Heywood Park, where her belongings were found. Perhaps, she was abducted elsewhere and the abductor threw away Abdolali's purse near Heywood Park to create a diversion.

The question for this hypothesis is: What would the motive for her abduction be? If there's a perpetrator out there, then this would have low chances of being their first crime -- is there a pattern already in the Lower Mainland of visibly young women missing in the past, say, five years? While there are two other recent cases of missing women (see CANADA - Canada - Trina Hunt, 48, Port Moody, BC, 18 January 2021 and UPDATE: RCMP ask for public help in search for missing Chilliwack woman - BC Local News), the police have advised public to refrain from suggesting any relation based on current evidence.

No further media or RCMP updates today.

 

[tarabull]

Here's the WS link to the gal from Chilliwack

CANADA - Canada - Shaelene Keeler Bell, 23, mom of 2, car found, Chilliwack BC, 30 Jan 2021

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

Looking at Abdolali's LinkedIn page (https://www.linkedin.com/in/fatemeh-abdolali/detail/recent-activity/), here latest activity occurred about a week prior to her disappearance on Feb 26 - nothing out of the ordinary in terms of deviating from the professional aspect of LinkedIn and liking posts alluding to mental health issues, for instance...

 

[dotr]

Feb 08, 2021
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...s-bc-social-media-rumours-advocates-1.5905587

"There are cases of missing women. The police are investigating. If somebody's wondering about that and having their own theories about that, that's something that I think is reasonable, but also it speaks to a level of fear that we know that many women and girls and people of marginalized genders are navigating every day," said MacDougall.

"This is actually really important … that someone spoke about their fear."

Videos — some of which now have more than half a million views — began circulating on social media in earnest over the weekend in response to the recent disappearances of women from southern B.C.

The disappearances of Trina Hunt, 48, in Port Moody and Shaelene Keeler Bell, 23, in Chilliwack have garnered particular attention.

Police have released minimal information about each case.

One TikTok post from a woman in Metro Vancouver suggests, without evidence, that human traffickers or a serial killer could be to blame for the women's disappearances.

Police said they have no evidence to support the theory in the video, which has garnered more than 600,000 views.''

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

Feb 08, 2021
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/brit...s-bc-social-media-rumours-advocates-1.5905587

"There are cases of missing women. The police are investigating. If somebody's wondering about that and having their own theories about that, that's something that I think is reasonable, but also it speaks to a level of fear that we know that many women and girls and people of marginalized genders are navigating every day," said MacDougall.

"This is actually really important … that someone spoke about their fear."

Videos — some of which now have more than half a million views — began circulating on social media in earnest over the weekend in response to the recent disappearances of women from southern B.C.

The disappearances of Trina Hunt, 48, in Port Moody and Shaelene Keeler Bell, 23, in Chilliwack have garnered particular attention.

Police have released minimal information about each case.

One TikTok post from a woman in Metro Vancouver suggests, without evidence, that human traffickers or a serial killer could be to blame for the women's disappearances.

Police said they have no evidence to support the theory in the video, which has garnered more than 600,000 views.''

Indeed, there will invariably be a considerable slice of netizens who believe they are sufficiently trained to theorize and even suggest they know more than the formally trained individuals. In a new post at [Knowledge Base] Crowdsourcing Criminology: Social Media and Citizen Policing in Missing Person Case, the authors of the article I shared mention three victimization elements: (1) a motivated offender; (2) a suitable target; and (3) lack of a guardian. Thus, hypothesizing along similar lines is probably fine, but concluding that such and such must be the case without analyzing and properly corroborating the underlying premises is ultimately all that's wrong with social media and what have you.

 

[Detective Willy]

Is it known what her relationship status is? High chance if something bad has happened to her it is by a male aged 30-50 who is known to her? Otherwise a random abduction by someone who has done this before!

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

Is it known what her relationship status is? High chance if something bad has happened to her it is by a male aged 30-50 who is known to her? Otherwise a random abduction by someone who has done this before!

There is no public info about her relationship status. Here are my thoughts: She was fairly new to Vancouver, having started a post doc position at the University of British Columbia in December 2020. According to online profile info, there are two possibilities: either she moved to BC directly from Alberta, where she was working up until July 2020 (LinkedIn), or she went to Iran for a few months and flew back to BC in December (more unlikely, given covid, etc.). In either case, it could be that she developed some relationship in Alberta, perhaps with a member of the Iranian community, given the affinity and related expectations. And, for reasons ranging from the banal to the most sophisticated, such a boyfriend (most likely than girlfriend for Middle Eastern individuals) not wanting her to move to BC, or feeling jealous, or being rejected for marriage, etc., an abduction/ crime may have been committed motivated by pride and obsession. The second alternative, that of being abducted by a repeat offender, is not to be excluded. I say that because the police by now would have most likely asked for the public's help in locating individuals of interest that may have been involved with Abdolali, but who knows...

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

An update has been posted on the related Facebook page (Log into Facebook), key elements of which I'm sharing below:

We are hoping to have an information event at Heywood Park Wed Mar 10.

Yesterday (Monday, Mar 8) was an even sadder day for the family of Dr. Fatemeh Adbolali and those who know her. She had arranged to start work that day, and despite hope against hope, this did not happen. Fatemeh was the top phd student from Iran in her year, and has dedicated her career thus far to the study of artificial intelligence methods and deep learning with specific application to cancer imaging. She most recently worked in Edmonton, and Japan before that. Her case is considered high risk missing, which is a term that related to her health and well being. Her case is under active investigation by the North Vancouver RCMP, and there is no indication that foul play is involved in her disappearance.

Poster located at 159177853 109731147849372 5863897449426022171 o — Postimages


Anyone who's interested in helping can assist the info event on Wednesday -- details of the time to follow.

I wonder where Abdolali had arranged to start working -- academia, some private company? What kind of competition was involved in getting the job, etc...?

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

Press release of today's info event at the location where Abdolali's purse and IDs were found: Advocates seek to push search for missing North Vancouver woman beyond North Shore

Acquaintances claim Abdolali likes to walk for hours (4-5), thus they suggest the search be expanded beyond the North Shore, which implies they believe she may have carried on walking (personally I think it's a non sequitur)...

Her job was at UBC as a researcher - she would have given her first talk today.

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

A synopsis of the facts:

1. Abdolali was last seen at around 12:20 p.m. on February 26, 2021, near Marine Dr. and Capilano Rd.
   
2. Abdolali's purse + IDs were discovered in Heywood Park, a 20/30-min walk from where she was last seen, shortly after she was reported missing (no info how long after exactly, one hour, two? Who would alert RCMP that Abdolali is missing? Who was expecting her where?). We don't know whether she was passing through the park, or if she stayed there a while, or if she merely used the public washrooms.
3. The police & other parties carried out an extensive search of the area -- we don't know what they covered exactly, but must have searched Heywood Park and, I hope, Kiwanis Park (south end of the creek).
4. Abdolali's first day at her new job as a researcher at UBC was supposed to be Monday, March 8. On Wednesday, March 10, she was expected to give her first research talk.
5. Her family, back in Iran, are in touch with Anne Gavin, a local missing-persons activist who is also leading the awareness effort. According to Gavin and Abdolali's acquaintances, Abdolali loves to walk for hours ("4-5"). They are asking the public to keep an eye out for Abdolali beyond the North Shore.

Given these facts and the hypotheses above, I doubt Abdolali merely kept on walking. Thus, efforts to search her beyond the North Shore are valid in case of an abduction, most logically. Her purse + IDs were discovered in the park, which means she either threw them away (why would she do that), or somebody mugged her somewhere away from traffic and threw her belongings away at Heywood Park (if that's the case, Abdolali would have immediately gone to the police), or somebody mugged her injuring her on the spot (in which case she could have succumbed to her injuries somewhere away from traffic), or she was abducted (in which case her belongings may have been left behind due to the pressure of the abductor escaping the scene, etc.). Not sure what RCMP are investigating on, but everyone agrees that awareness about Abdolali's case need to spread beyond Vancouver.

 

[dotr]

Advocates seek help in missing North Van woman's case - North Shore News
''Sheila McFarland and Anne Gavin were at the park on Wednesday afternoon, to hold a vigil and hand out flyers, hoping to raise the profile of the case. Abdolali is known for going on long urban walks. The two are holding out hope she will be found.

“We want the word out that she could be anywhere at this point,” Gavin said.

“We would like to cover from Hope all the way up to Squamish,” McFarland added.

Abdolali was supposed to start work as a lecturer at the University of British Columbia this week. She had recently arrived from Edmonton and had no personal connections in the Lower Mainland. Her family is all in Iran and is not able to come help, McFarland added.

“It's not possible for them to just get a visa and come here. That's not the way it works with Iran,” she said.''

 

[Empirical_Scientist]

According to this Facebook announcement (on the Langley Crime Page: Langley crime page (City,Murrayville,Brookswood,Willoughby,Yorkson) : Thank you for reading this long post – Dr), Abdolali "typically does NOT walk on hiking trails. She has no problem with walking as much as 5 to 6 hours a day in an urban setting."

The poster implies Abdolali may have had an interest exploring communities beyond North Vancouver.

Still, it is strange to me how her belongings (purse + IDs -- quite important items) being found in Heywood Park in North Vancouver are not really indication of foul play.

In my previous posts, I hypothesized on her being lost while hiking -- perhaps this hypothesis is likely out. Too, her mental health seemed fine and she was passionate about research; the hypothesis of being lost due to mental health is likely out. Similarly, the hypothesis of suicide is out -- zero warning signs.

Thus, whether it is abduction or mugging, foul play should be considered with high likelihood, in my view.

The alternative, that Abdolali got lost/ injured/ abandoned while taking a very long walk may be considered as viable, in which case chances of find her should increase with increased awareness that she has gone missing.

 

[dotr]

March 10 2021 rbbm.
Advocates seek to push search for missing North Vancouver woman beyond North Shore

Anyone who sees Fatemeh Abdolali is asked to call 911 immediately. North Vancouver RCMP

''She is a fiercely independent person, it’s true, but she likes to keep fairly close contact with her family back in Iran,” she said.

“At this point, she has no family here.”

Abdolali was recently hired as a researcher at UBC, and had been scheduled to hold her first talk on Wednesday.''

“We know she loves to walk, she’s new to town, so she doesn’t have a lot of support, she doesn’t know a lot of people, and we want people to be aware of her,” Gavin said.

“She walks four or five hours, doesn’t think anything of it — so that’s why we’re thinking the focus needs to be beyond the North Shore.”
''Anyone who thinks they see Abdolali is asked to call 911 immediately.''

 

[booghawk]

Bumping for sweet Fatemeh. I frequent the park her belongings were found in, with my son. I cannot get her off my mind, or her poor family back in Iran. I can't even imagine.