Talha Hashmani August 26, 2021
'This is a needle in a haystack': Family of missing Nottawa woman longs for closure
''Coleman’s boyfriend at the time, Steve George, told the OPP he dropped her off at a Mac’s Convenience store in Barrie on Aug. 3, 2011. According to Stubbs, George told her two different stories, first saying he dropped Coleman off at the south-end Walmart and then saying he came home from work to see Coleman’s stuff all packed and gone, along with her.
“This is a needle in a haystack,” said Tony Markic, the OPP’s lead detective on the case. “Cases tend to stick with detectives for a long time. Everybody has that one, and this is the one for me.”
''Markic said the OPP believes Coleman never left her residence in Nottawa and instead met with foul play on or before Aug. 3, 2011.
He named George as a suspect, citing a lack of co-operation from him in the investigation.
But George said he was co-operative and that he didn't kill Coleman.''
The search turned up evidence of Coleman’s unpacked belongings, which Stubbs said George refused to give her. It also raised doubts about George’s version of events, in which he said he dropped Coleman off in Barrie with all her belongings.
"I know where I dropped her off," said George. "I dropped her off at Mac's... at the same road as the Walmart in Barrie. That's where the confusion came."
''As for Stubbs, she believes Coleman’s history of drinking and other mental health issues might make people value her disappearance less. She said she’s concerned about painting her step-sister in a bad light that would take away the urgency to find her.
For now, Stubbs and her family have come to terms with Coleman’s disappearance, but she wants to know what happened to her, in hopes of bringing her family closure.
“I love my sister. I want to find her."