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‘Her babies need their mother’: Missing Sudbury woman’s family pleading for help

Sister of Constance Richards says woman had been 'acting strange' before disappearance
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Loved ones are concerned for the welfare of Contance “Connie” Richards, who went missing Aug. 4, 2020. Her car was found abandoned off Fox Lake Road, southwest of Cartier. (Supplied)

Shantel Amos, the sister of a missing Sudbury woman whose abandoned car was discovered in a gravel pit north of the city, is pleading with the public to assist the OPP’s ongoing investigation. 

“Please come forward if you have any information about my little sister. I love her, and I need her back safe. Her babies need their mother,” she said.

Constance (Connie) Richards, 26, was last seen on the afternoon of Aug. 4 when witnesses told police they saw her driving erratically near Fox Lake Lodge, according to West Nipissing OPP, but police were unable to locate her at the time.  

On Aug. 8, police officers received a call at around 11:45 a.m. about an abandoned car parked off Fox Lake Road in Ermatinger Township, 10 km southwest of Cartier. 

It was determined that Richards was the owner of the vehicle, and the OPP brought in helicopters and a canine unit to begin searching the area where the vehicle was found. 

“Constance was calling her eldest son, who was staying at his grandmother’s house, every day (in the days leading up to the disappearance). On Aug. 5, his grandmother reached out to me and asked if I had heard from her, and I said no,” said Amos. 

“She was calling her son every day, and then suddenly, nothing. A couple days later, his grandmother called me back and told me to stay calm, but they had found her vehicle abandoned with a purse still in it. At the time, they didn’t know if it was her purse or not.” 

Amos and her family had been concerned about Richards’ behaviour for some time now, she said. 

“I knew that she had been acting strange. She had messaged me a few times saying some things that were out of character for her. I know that she was recently in a toxic relationship that she got out of not too long ago,” said Amos. 

“But when I spoke to her last, about three or four weeks ago, she told me that she was doing a lot better. She was going to church and stuff, and I told her how proud I was of her and I thought that everything was fine.”

Amos said that “every second feels like hours” not knowing where her sister is, and she hopes that the mother of three will be found safe and healthy.  

Members of the Nipissing West OPP, with the assistance of the OPP Canine Unit, the OPP Emergency Response Team, and the OPP Aviation Services-Helicopter section, are continuing to search the area where the vehicle was found. 

“There are crews still on the ground, but so far they haven’t been able to identify any clues as to the missing person's whereabouts. The area they are searching right now has some pretty dense woods,” said OPP Cons. Michelle Coulombe on Monday. 

“Police are concerned for this woman’s wellbeing and are requesting the public’s assistance to help locate this individual.” 

Richards is described as white, 5-4 (163 cm), 120 pounds (54.4 kg), with a thin build, long brown hair, and brown eyes.

She has the following tattoos:

  • Right wrist: KR;
  • Left forearm: JUPITER;
  • Left wrist: AR; and
  • Right arm: ANTHONY

If anyone has any information, contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit information online at www.p3tips.com where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

Colleen Romaniuk is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with The Sudbury Star. The Local Journalism Initiative is made possible through funding from the federal government.


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About the Author: Colleen Romaniuk, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Colleen Romaniuk is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, a Government of Canada program, at the Sudbury Star.
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