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

[Mayjusticeprevail]

Thank you! That doesn't necessarily scream accelerant to me only because wasn't that a wood extension with vinyl siding? Not brick like the rest of the house? I mean, definitely COULD be accelerant, but having been through some massive fires and watching the stucco houses go up in flames in minutes without accelerant, that tiny thing being engulfed in 10 minutes would not surprise me.

With so few details made public, the limited information we have about the fire suggests a very deliberate act. The Ontario Fire Marshal (OFM) confirmed the fire was arson and targeted.

I looked up fire investigations for arson in Ontario to find out what Is done.

Sharing those findings. This Is more general.

They map out the burn patterns to pinpoint the exact origin.
They can determine from the burn patterns whether a fire started in one spot or several - floor, walls, ceiling, furniture, curtains, or appliances.
They take samples of materials from any of the points of origin to run tests.
At the site, they use forensic tools like an electronic hydrocarbon “sniffer” or an accelerant-detection canine to identify where fuel was introduced.

 

[Claroon]

With so few details made public, the limited information we have about the fire suggests a very deliberate act. The Ontario Fire Marshal (OFM) confirmed the fire was arson and targeted.

I looked up fire investigations for arson in Ontario to find out what Is done.

Sharing those findings. This Is more general.

They map out the burn patterns to pinpoint the exact origin.
They can determine from the burn patterns whether a fire started in one spot or several - floor, walls, ceiling, furniture, curtains, or appliances.
They take samples of materials from any of the points of origin to run tests.
At the site, they use forensic tools like an electronic hydrocarbon “sniffer” or an accelerant-detection canine to identify where fuel was introduced.

We are learning so much!

Joking: Winter boredom leads to us having strange hobbies.

 

[Claroon]

I captured these pictures off the realtor video the other day should someone not have seen the interior of EW's studio apt. It is not verified that EW was living there at the time the video was made. But the floorplan would not have changed IMO.

Studio Apt. only entrance.

 

[Ghostwheel]

Why video? From where?

It was very very dark that night. Low moon, sunrise not until around 7:30 am. Not a lot of lighting.

No street lights? No cameras on any of the houses? I am not familiar with the area. In my area there are many houses with cameras and they pick up a lot even in low light conditions. There can be no moon and there would still be enough light for the cameras.

Do you know if there are no cameras on any houses there? Again, LE says nothing, so they could have images or video or they could have nothing.

 

[Claroon]

No street lights? No cameras on any of the houses? I am not familiar with the area. In my area there are many houses with cameras and they pick up a lot even in low light conditions. There can be no moon and there would still be enough light for the cameras.

Do you know if there are no cameras on any houses there? Again, LE says nothing, so they could have images or video or they could have nothing.

We really don’t know what LE collected. They haven’t released any information about cameras, footage, or what they reviewed. We’ve talked about this a few times in earlier posts if you want to search back.

If someone approached from the back park area or the neighbouring industrial parking lot, there aren’t any guaranteed cameras unless those buildings have their own security systems. Not every house has a doorbell camera, not every business has surveillance, and not every vehicle has a dash cam.

We also identified the street lights in earlier posts and looked at cloud cover and moon height for that night. LE may have footage, or they may not — we simply don’t know.

 

[Mayjusticeprevail]

No street lights? No cameras on any of the houses? I am not familiar with the area. In my area there are many houses with cameras and they pick up a lot even in low light conditions. There can be no moon and there would still be enough light for the cameras.

Do you know if there are no cameras on any houses there? Again, LE says nothing, so they could have images or video or they could have nothing.

Street Lights on major street across from the house

 

[Claroon]

Street Lights on major street across from the house

View attachment 640771

Thank you for the photo. Just a reminder that everything with EW happened in full darkness. Ring cams really vary in quality, so only LE would know if anything from the front of the house was usable. If a camera did pick something up, it would’ve been in night mode (infrared or low‑light color) I would suspect.

I asked an AI program to convert the above photo bearing in mind these conditions which we already established for October 18, 19. "Can you convert the above photo to a night sceen with street lights and maybe house lights on but tree canopy coverage of leaves, a Waning Crescent moon, and cloud coverage based on this information?" waning cresent moon extremely thin, only 5–8% illumination• Oct 18: ~7.7% illumination• Oct 19: ~3.2% illumination and cloud cover: October 18, 2025• Evening cloud cover: ~60–80% (mostly cloudy to overcast)• Overnight cloud cover: ~70–90%October 19, 2025• Early morning cloud cover: ~80–90% (overcast)"

This is the result: Note to moderators, this is AI.

In mid‑October in Kitchener, leafy trees block most moonlight, so streets are much darker than in winter. Even light-cloud cover can cut visibility, especially along sidewalks, between streetlights, and near tree‑filled yards. Under those conditions, camera footage may be pretty grainy, IMO.

We don’t know whether what happened on the 18th–19th was planned or something that escalated in the moment. In general criminology, people trying to avoid detection often stick to darker routes. If this was intentional, someone might have chosen the darker side of the street or even come through the park at the back, since that route would have been the least visible on a dark October night IMO.

If it was a friend who texted first, then the whole situation could look very different. Someone he knew wouldn’t need to sneak around or use the darkest route. They could have just walked up normally, and EW might have opened the door without hesitation. In that scenario, there’s no need to assume planning or stealth at all. But, removing EW or coming back later to set the fire would be cause for taking cover in the darkness IMO.

EW's studio apartment had lights at the patio door. Whether he would have kept them on if he was going to bed, is something we don't know.

This photo from MSM shows the leaf cover still on the trees.

EW's studio apartment entrance

 

[Ghostwheel]

We really don’t know what LE collected. They haven’t released any information about cameras, footage, or what they reviewed. We’ve talked about this a few times in earlier posts if you want to search back.

If someone approached from the back park area or the neighbouring industrial parking lot, there aren’t any guaranteed cameras unless those buildings have their own security systems. Not every house has a doorbell camera, not every business has surveillance, and not every vehicle has a dash cam.

We also identified the street lights in earlier posts and looked at cloud cover and moon height for that night. LE may have footage, or they may not — we simply don’t know.

Thank you. I was only responding to the post responding to my post about video. I didn't see anyone previously mention about a car possibly backing into the space and that is where this all came from. I could have missed such a post.

In my neighborhood, streetlights mean a camera can get images and video, even with no moonlight. So in my world, if someone backed into the back, took Eli and set a fire, then drove out (I assume backing in for quick escape forward), I would have thought there would be video, same as if a vehicle parked somewhere else and Eli was carried to the vehicle. That at least one house would have had a camera. Some kind of video of a car coming and going. If no vehicle was involved, then Eli would have had to have left some other way, like out the back gate or out the front voluntarily or being carried.

 

[Charlot123]

Questions:

1) on the studio photos, I don’t see a bathroom. There probably is something. It could be a shower, a tub…hard to tell. But in my mind, a “spa day” implies at least a hot tub, or a jacuzzi. Does anyone know what Eli meant by “a spa”?

2) since it was a “GoFundMe”, the money were probably transferred electronically. But if Eli was robbed, there may be a certain way to trace the money. I hope.

Best of luck to the family! Must be a horrible story. Maybe the fire’s goal was to destroy all electronics.

 

[Claroon]

Thank you. I was only responding to the post responding to my post about video. I didn't see anyone previously mention about a car possibly backing into the space and that is where this all came from. I could have missed such a post.

In my neighborhood, streetlights mean a camera can get images and video, even with no moonlight. So in my world, if someone backed into the back, took Eli and set a fire, then drove out (I assume backing in for quick escape forward), I would have thought there would be video, same as if a vehicle parked somewhere else and Eli was carried to the vehicle. That at least one house would have had a camera. Some kind of video of a car coming and going. If no vehicle was involved, then Eli would have had to have left some other way, like out the back gate or out the front voluntarily or being carried.

Yes, that makes sense. Also note, across the street are no houses. Only ring cams would be on same side of street. Only LE know if there were any. (Or someone who walked to check ) Probably not visible on Google street view.

25 Major St. is/was occupied by 3 tenants renting AFAIK. I don't know if renters would put in ring cams or not.