It has now been 10 days since Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini was declared missing with no indication where he might be or might have gone.
Search efforts have been underway since Jan. 28. Ground searches with police personnel and North Shore Search and Rescue volunteers, and aerial searches with an Ontario Provincial Police helicopter and drones, turned up nothing in the McCharles Lake Road and Panache Lake Road areas on the western edge of the city, the location of the last confirmed sighting of the missing politician.
While the ground searches in the western edge of the city turn up nothing, the effort was assisted to a degree by the weather, in the sense that daytime and overnight temperatures have stayed mild.
Daytime temperatures have generally stayed above freezing for the past 10 days, and overnight lows stayed near zero.
Today, Greater Sudbury Police is going to conduct a search in the Moonglo *** neighbourhood in the city’s South End, despite the fact they have no information to suggest Vagnini is in that area.
“Members of our Search and Rescue Team working in collaboration with North Shore Search and Rescue will be conducting a ground and aerial search in the Moonglo neighbourhood as part of the overall search effort,” GSPS said in a news release. “There is no specific information to suggest that Michael or the vehicle may be in the area, however as part of our due diligence approximately 10 individuals (officers and NSSR volunteers) will be conducting the search with the assistance of the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS).”
GSPS said Moonglo is an area “associated” with Vagnini in the sense that he was “regularly seen” there, GSPS spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn said, without explaining what that means.
GSPS said search efforts on the digital side continue as well. The police service said it is “continuously in contact” with satellite radio company Sirius XM, as well as cellular service companies and banks to see if Vagnini has used any of his electronic devices, credit cards or debit cards.
“These investigative tactics have not generated any leads regarding the whereabouts of Michael Vagnini or the black 2021 Ram 1500 truck with Ontario license plate BK22178,” police said in the release.
Police are still asking the public to be on the lookout for Vagnini’s truck, particularly in public and private parking lots across the city. Residents and business owners area also asked to check all outbuildings on their property.
Anyone with information related to the whereabouts of Michael Vagnini or the vehicle is asked to contact police at 705- 675-9171 extension 2320, which is a dedicated tip line for this incident and is checked regularly by detectives in the GSPS Criminal Investigation Division.
“If you have immediate and actionable information related to the whereabouts of Michael or his vehicle, please call 9-1-1.”
A vigil for Vagnini is being held Feb. 8 as part of the Walden Winter Carnival. The vigil for Vagnini is being held Thursday, Feb. 8 from 8-8:30 p.m. in the TM Davies Community Centre upper lot, following the carnival fireworks. You can learn more about that event here.
***Greater Sudbury Police issued a correction at 2:09 p.m. Feb. 2, saying the search area is actually the Moonglo neighbourhood.
