CANADA Canada- Eli Wood, 25, student@ Sir Wilfred Laurier Univ., missing after fire (poss. arson)@ home, Kitchener, Ont.,19 Oct., 2025, *Foul play suspected*

[Claroon]

Less likely, but possible scenarios might include, E nowhere near to his home (by chance or force), his phone & keys stolen and used to enter the apartment and start the fire.
Not enough funds were raised, so he put an item (bike, books?)up for sale and the 'buyer' was very bad news. speculation,

Again, for me, the timeline is the issue. His mom called him and he was staying in that night. Some think she called around midnight which would be too late for someone coming to buy something and the fire was by 6 am.

 

[Claroon]

If he didn't make it home, then went voluntarily with someone else or kidnapped on the street. I would think there would be video. If left voluntarily after arriving home, is there a place where he might go? Friend, comfort place, etc. Which made me think of an addendum to leave voluntarily. Leave voluntarily , then get kidnapped. Its a little out there unless he went to meet someone, and that someone was not a nice person. If taken forcibly, then what direction? Out the back? He was so small and lightweight he would not be hard to wrap in something and carry out or even push or pull into a vehicle.

I am leaning towards met up with someone voluntarily and things went sideways. This is another of those cases where there is something just bothering me and I cannot quite place it.

Let me clarify something regarding your statement "didn't make it home". Last known whereabout LE told us was phone call with his mother saying they (he and Princess) were staying in for a spa day and the dog's towel was in the dryer. We since saw in the video I posted, the dryer is in the studio apart. I took it that the call was made in the apt. not during a walk home, i.e. that he was in the apt that night.

 

[Claroon]

...

I am leaning towards met up with someone voluntarily and things went sideways. This is another of those cases where there is something just bothering me and I cannot quite place it.

A question is whether the desire to destroy digital evidence was the motive and whether the fire was a planned way to take care of that?

I agree that he might have met someone voluntarily and more likely someone known to him arrived at his apartment, but IMO, this known-to-him-person had been stewing about something and maybe knew EW would be leaving the province soon, and it was time to take care of business. Or once confronted, things spiralled. And choosing the arson made sense to this perp to cover their tracks.

If this happened, this POI would have dumped EW somewhere fairly close or familiar as is common behaviour in cases.

 

[Claroon]

The question about wide open spaces near 25 Major St. Two include Woodside Historic Park and Springwood Park which
Law enforcement (LE) could have searched only if one of the following applied:
• Search warrant issued by a judge
• Exigent circumstances (e.g., threat to life, destruction of evidence)
• Consent from the property manager or controlling authority

As another sleuth suggested, there are a lot of industries with dumpsters, etc. that would be easy to drop someone by as well. Private properties.

And further up the highway (assuming the perp used a vehicle), is the area along the river where a group did plan to do a search before the snow became an issue.

 

[Claroon]

@dotr with your experience in this type of crime, would a perp drive a body farther out of town? It isn't that far to be out of town.

I'm leaning to a) perp with no vehicle body was left close b) perp with vehicle also left close due to chaotic feelings and the decision to return to start a fire.

 

[Claroon]

Another great question posed earlier. If you study other cases and have insight from other cases, please share your thoughts.

• Did the perpetrator dispose of their own clothing, gloves, or other items used during the crime? If so, where might they have put them — trash bins, dumpsters, abandoned properties, river, or taken them away in a vehicle? (Also could be snow covered now.)

Disclaimer:
This is speculative analysis based on public reporting; not intended as fact.

 

[Claroon]

Regarding the previous post where I said the goFundMe was set at $1,800, This poster from EW's FB page says $4,000 is needed as a minimum amount. Wow.

 

[Ghostwheel]

Let me clarify something regarding your statement "didn't make it home". Last known whereabout LE told us was phone call with his mother saying they (he and Princess) were staying in for a spa day and the dog's towel was in the dryer. We since saw in the video I posted, the dryer is in the studio apart. I took it that the call was made in the apt. not during a walk home, i.e. that he was in the apt that night.

I did read that, but I have not yet seen that the phone was as the home during the call. It probably was, and he was probably home, but since I do not know that for sure, I leave the possibility open. Unless maybe I missed a post where LE said the phone records showed him at home during the call? Was that ever a definite, that the call was from his home?

 

[Ghostwheel]

RSBM. b) perp with vehicle also left close due to chaotic feelings and the decision to return to start a fire.

I have a thought on this. Maybe not a decision to return, but an arson setup to set a fire after the person left.

Say someone came home with, or even knocked on Eli's door and was invited in. To start a fire, that person could have set a cigarette balanced on a plate sitting on papers. When the cigarette burned down to fall off the plate, the fire happens. Same if you place a tea candle on paper towels (just wax candle sitting on the towels). There are dozens of ways to slow motion arson.

So a perp would not necessarily have to come back to set a fire. But then it would definitely be premeditated. As a possibility.

 

[Ghostwheel]

Another great question posed earlier. If you study other cases and have insight from other cases, please share your thoughts.

• Did the perpetrator dispose of their own clothing, gloves, or other items used during the crime? If so, where might they have put them — trash bins, dumpsters, abandoned properties, river, or taken them away in a vehicle? (Also could be snow covered now.)

Disclaimer:
This is speculative analysis based on public reporting; not intended as fact.

From my point of view, i would need to know more to have an opinion on that. If they needed to dispose of their clothes, they could be anywhere. Was it a trash day the next day? My thought always goes to various trash cans and dumpsters, but depending on what happened, they may not have needed to dispose of much (or even anything).

 

[LadyL]

Does anyone know about when the snow would melt enough that true outdoor searches can continue? It seems to me that if there is a body to be found in any outside location, it would have to be after snow melt, correct?

Also, I see no information about Eli's day to day life. That colours how I think through possibilities. If he were unable to get enough from the GoFundMe to pay rent and finish school, would he look for a job? Maybe meet someone not yet known to his family or friends? Would his mental outlook be positive, negative, in between that close to the end of a month (like worried about being able to pay rent). Would he have looked for a roommate? Being a kind person, he may not have recognized a person claiming to want to help but having another motive. In addition, his research may have led him to someone who had mental heath issues.

Both LE and the family are being very tight lipped. I feel like they have some clues they cannot act on, but I have no basis in fact for that.

we could have snow straight into April and have had a lot more storms this year but it usually melts sometime in March

 

[Mayjusticeprevail]

I did read that, but I have not yet seen that the phone was as the home during the call. It probably was, and he was probably home, but since I do not know that for sure, I leave the possibility open. Unless maybe I missed a post where LE said the phone records showed him at home during the call? Was that ever a definite, that the call was from his home?

Family confirmed on social media. They used facetime a lot so they would have seen he was home

 

[Mayjusticeprevail]

I have a thought on this. Maybe not a decision to return, but an arson setup to set a fire after the person left.

Say someone came home with, or even knocked on Eli's door and was invited in. To start a fire, that person could have set a cigarette balanced on a plate sitting on papers. When the cigarette burned down to fall off the plate, the fire happens. Same if you place a tea candle on paper towels (just wax candle sitting on the towels). There are dozens of ways to slow motion arson.

So a perp would not necessarily have to come back to set a fire. But then it would definitely be premeditated. As a possibility.

As far as fire goes, the 911 was at 6 am and the unit was fully engulfed.

Had it been a slow starting fire smoke alarms would have gone off long before that and his dog would have been barking lots, no?

I’m not sure if it was a real fireplace or not but here is screenshot from real estate video walk through of 25 Major st house.

 

[Claroon]

Was thrown off for a min and then my internet went down. Was going to say he could have been walking, but saw the other Websleuths member's post. Whatever happened, the phone did end up burned in the unit. I've been trying to find the MSM article that spells out the phone and laptop were burned in the fire, or was it in a video or FB post? Geesh, hard to find the sources as needed.

 

[Claroon]

From my point of view, i would need to know more to have an opinion on that. If they needed to dispose of their clothes, they could be anywhere. Was it a trash day the next day? My thought always goes to various trash cans and dumpsters, but depending on what happened, they may not have needed to dispose of much (or even anything).

Thanks for the reply. I had tried to look up when their trash day was in the past and there isn't a calendar to establish that.

I was considering this as was thinking if they were agitated and not thinking well, they might have dropped something even in the bushes in the park if they exited to the rear hastily. Was thinking these articles could be something neighbours could check their sheds and bushes for back when we didn't have snow.

 

[Valiant]

Thanks for the reply. I had tried to look up when their trash day was in the past and there isn't a calendar to establish that.

I was considering this as was thinking if they were agitated and not thinking well, they might have dropped something even in the bushes in the park if they exited to the rear hastily. Was thinking these articles could be something neighbours could check their sheds and bushes for back when we didn't have snow.

In a lot of big cities, there are multiple trash contractors so almost any weekday could be a trash day. The municipal collections are a certain day but many businesses don't use municipal trash and would contact with a host of different vendors.

 

[Claroon]

In a lot of big cities, there are multiple trash contractors so almost any weekday could be a trash day. The municipal collections are a certain day but many businesses don't use municipal trash and would contact with a host of different vendors.

Very true. There are many businesses around that spot.

 

[Mayjusticeprevail]

In a lot of big cities, there are multiple trash contractors so almost any weekday could be a trash day. The municipal collections are a certain day but many businesses don't use municipal trash and would contact with a host of different vendors.

Just to add residential pick up schedule for reference too:

For Kitchener, residential garbage collection is
every second week, with a limit of 3 bags/cans for single-family homes.
Oct 20-24 was garbage collection with double bag allotment per household.
Green bin (Organics) blue box (recycling) is collected weekly and yard waste is collected every second week, on the opposite week of garbage.

Link

 

[Claroon]

I do feel for the family. I know regular posting on social media is the way they are coping. The only narrative that gives them hope is that he is still alive, kidnapped, or whatever (small percent of that being true, IMO). It is hard to see that plea request to share his photo when some of us doubt there is any fruit in doing so. So I opted out of groups. No new info is usually offered, just the pleas from family and friends and wishful requests for sightings.

Some who comment tend to infer that LE are doing nothing--based on family saying there are no updates (or something to that effect). And that simply can't be true IMO. The special crimes unit has the case. I guess lack of press conferences leads people to believe nothing is being done.

In other words, if EW is buried in the snow, no amount of posting his photo is going to help IMO. I don't have a solution, I'm just reacting from seeing more on FB than makes sense to me.