Renewed push for information in Lois Hanna’s 1988 disappearance

CTV’s Hannah Schmidt delves into the unsolved case of Lois Hanna, a woman last seen in 1988 leaving a homecoming dance in Lucknow, Ont.

A new appeal has been launched for information into the disappearance of Lois Hanna.

The 25-year-old went to a homecoming dance in Lucknow, Ont. on July 3, 1988. At 11:45 p.m., she said goodbye to her brother and went home.

Lois was never seen again.

Ontario Provincial Police have put together a documentary, called Vanished Lois Hanna: Unsolved, which includes recent interviews with her family, friends and investigators.

“I know that this case has followed investigators for decades,” Det. Insp. Phil Hordijk, with the OPP’s Criminal Investigation Branch, told CTV News. “It’s at the forefront of people’s minds, even though it’s been 38 years.”

Police also shared new details about the case.

Lois’ four brothers described her as fun and kind.

“She had a wicked sense of humour. She was playful, devious. She loved to play pranks on people,” recalled Jim Hanna in the OPP video. “She was very much her own person. Very strong-willed.”

After the dance

Dave Hanna was the last one to see his sister on July 3, 1988. That moment continues to haunt his dreams.

“She’s walking away from me… I can still see her walking through the crowd. I don’t know how many times I woke up out of a sleep just screaming, ‘Don’t!’”

Lois lived and worked in Kincardine, Ont. When she didn’t show up for work the morning after the dance, her co-worker went to her house. The doors were locked so she climbed in through a window.

“I was overcome with a sense of dread,” Christine Szekely said. “I immediately felt I should not have entered the house.”

OPP described the scene as “eerie.”

“The lights were on, the TV was playing, Lois’s clothes from the night before were put away, her purse and keys were untouched and there was a fresh cup of tea on the kitchen counter by the side door, where two drops of blood were later located on the wall,” they wrote in a media release. “The house was locked and her car was parked in the driveway. Everything was in its place, but there was no Lois.”

Even though a missing persons report was made to the Kincardine police department, her brothers took immediate action.

“We weren’t waiting on them to do something cause they weren’t going to do anything for 48 hours,” explained Jim Hanna.

They piled into a pickup truck and drove around the community.

“I’m outside of town roaring up and down some of the sideroads and stuff, in the back of a pickup truck, holding the flashlight over top of your head, shining into the ditch,” Dave recalled. “We were going to do our own damn dive on the harbour.”

Still searching

No one has seen or heard from Lois in 38 years.

Investigators took another look at her case in 1996 and, not long after, announced they had tested the blood drops found in her home. Those generated a male DNA profile.

“That’s significant step forward,” Hordijk said.

The profile was entered into the OPP’s database but failed to get a positive hit. It did, however, help with the investigation.

“Several people over the years have been eliminated in this case,” explained Hordijk. “Given the fact that it’s an ongoing case, I can’t really speak to specific persons or what their roles are.”

Investigators, he added, weren’t ready to give up.

“We’re still working. We’re not quitting.”

Linda Weltz, a retired OPP detective constable, was added to the team in 2023.

“Since Linda came on board I believe we’ve had 35 new tips that have been investigated,” Hordijk said. “We have gone back and looked at 18 previous tips that we felt were relevant, we felt needed further investigation. As a result of that, we have done 45 new interviews in the last two years. We’ve done two polygraphs in the last two years.”

While they want to close the case, police are keeping some information to themselves.

“We do have a witness that came forward in the 90s regarding a vehicle that they saw in front of Lois’ house,” Hordijk said.

He noted that the vehicle had round headlights, which meant it was likely a model released in the 1970s.

Police said a “credible witness” also heard a disturbance at the Kincardine harbour.

Both of those incidents allegedly happened around 3 a.m.

Police want to corroborate those reports.

“We really hope that somebody who has some information about that vehicle will come forward and provide us with a couple pieces to the puzzle,” Hordijk said. “Things get woven into this fabric of memory that people bring forward to us in tips, year after year after year. Those people have been very reliable over the years. And again, we saw this as an opportunity to bring this information to the broader public.”

The provincial government is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to Lois’ location. Tips can be shared with the OPP at 1-888-310-1122, or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.

The Hannas said they just want their sister back so they can bury her next to their parents.