Focus of search for missing woman moves to south Edmonton, police say
Police are now searching in south Edmonton for a woman who has been missing since Friday.
An exact location has not been disclosed “to allow the members adequate space to conduct their search,” police said Monday in a brief statement.
More than 200 people have been searching for Nadia Atwi since Friday morning, her family says.
Atwi, 32, was last seen by her husband at home in the northeast Edmonton area of 48th Street and 146th Avenue around 6:30 a.m. on Friday, her mother Salwa Atwi said.
Atwi’s vehicle was found in a ditch at Rundle Park around 4:30 p.m. Friday.
“Hopefully we will find her safe,” her mother said on Sunday, during a search at Rundle Park. “That’s all that we’re hoping for now.”
Nadia Atwi, 32, was last seen by her husband at home in the area of 48th Street and 146th Avenue around 6:30 a.m. Friday. (Supplied/Edmonton Police Service)
Her daughter’s cellphone, wallet and other personal belongings remained in the vehicle, she said.
The Edmonton Police Service is investigating. It’s believed Atwi may still be in the Rundle Park area, police said in a media release.
She is a Lebanese woman, around 170-180 pounds and is five feet eight inches tall. She has long, dark brown hair, brown eyes and was wearing dark clothing at the time of her disappearance. She requires medication and may be confused, police said.
Atwi is a mother and kindergarten teacher at a private Arabic school in Edmonton.
She wears a hijab but may not have been wearing one when she left her vehicle, her mother said. Atwi’s family is desperate to find her, she added.
“Please, to everybody who knows where Nadia is, please let us know,” she said.
“We have been doing everything possible that we could have done, we contacted all the people we know, we put a note on Facebook but we don’t know. There are so many stories but we don’t know for sure.”
Nadia Atwi’s mother, Salwa Atwi, joined the search for her daughter in Rundle Park Sunday. (CBC/Zoe Todd)
Atwi’s cousin, Heba Reslan, said the disappearance is out of character for the young woman.
“She’s very friendly, very kind, speaks perfect English,” she said. “This is absolutely just crazy. We don’t even know what to think, what to do. We’re just doing what we can, looking everywhere we can.”
She joined more than 200 volunteers who gathered Sunday morning to search for Atwi in the Rundle Park area. Police are also involved in the search, Reslan said.
Police are asking anyone with information about Atwi’s disappearance to contact them.
More than 200 volunteers helped Nadia Atwi’s family search Rundle Park on Sunday. (CBC/Zoe Todd)
Search and rescue teams worked with dogs to comb through Rundle Park on Sunday. (CBC/Zoe Todd)