Police are investigating the “suspicious” disappearance of a 56-year-old woman from the city of Markham, just northeast of Toronto.
Yuk-Ying (Anita) Mui, a realtor, was reported missing by her family on Aug. 9 when she failed to return home after leaving her house early that morning.
In a press statement on Monday, regional police said Ms. Mui left her home near Baycliffe Road and Warden Avenue around 9:30 a.m. Her family hasn’t heard from her since 11 a.m. that day.
That same afternoon Ms. Mui went missing, her vehicle, a white 2024 Mercedes SUV, was found about a 15-minute drive from her home in a plaza parking lot near Finch Avenue East and Warden Avenue in Toronto.
York Regional Police and Ms. Mui’s family expressed concern about her well-being, the police statement said. “This is out of character for her and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance are being treated as suspicious.”
“Our homicide unit has been called in as they do for any missing person in an instance where it is considered suspicious,” said York Regional Police Constable Lisa Moskaluk in a press conference on Monday.
Ms. Mui is described as a Chinese female of medium build with brown eyes and straight, shoulder-length black hair. Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen her vehicle or have information about her to come forward.
The disappearance comes just weeks after the body of 57-year-old Markham woman Ying Zhang was found in a town about 140 kilometres north of Toronto.
On Aug. 1, York Regional Police charged a 26-year-old man with second-degree murder and indignity to a dead body in connection to Ms. Zhang’s disappearance.
In the press conference on Monday, Ms. Moskaluk said there is nothing to suggest, at this time, any link between Ms. Zhang or Ms. Mui’s disappearance.
“We haven’t received any suspicious evidence or anything that would show or lead investigators to something bad that may have happened to her,” Ms. Moskaluk said. “However, she does have regular contact with her family so the fact that she hasn’t checked in with them is enough for them to be concerned and for the police to be concerned.”