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.

 

[Mayjusticeprevail]

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.

View attachment 640786

Just posting here to put together photos in one thread to show views of the property in context to the layout of the apartment.
Also to show as best I can that the fire appears to be heavily concentrated along the back wall spanning across the kitchen, sliding door and lounge area where the fireplace is.

Here is the initial photo shown on MSM reporting on the early morning fire at 25 Major St. Taken by a neighbour and submitted to MSM

This appears to be taken from second story window of one of the neighbours.

My guess is the one on left in order to see that cable and the white patio umbrella. They must have been scared considering the fire was spreading outside by the looks of it.

Aerial photo snip from real estate video to help determine the angle of the photo:

The fire damage outside sliding door:

the fire damage outside the kitchen side of the unit:

Interior shot of kitchen area from real estate video:

The fire damage outside the lounge area of the unit:

The Interior shot of lounge area from real estate video:

Note that fireplace was not wood burning - there is no chimney on that section of the house.

The bathroom was most likely along the same side as the kitchen area

It appears to have a tiled shower with glass door. no bathtub

Something a bit odd - there is a ceiling access area

Lastly, something to note is that Major Park does not appear to have any lights.

I do wonder if there would be cameras at the loading dock pictured here (2 white doors in top right section of the screen shot from real estate video from Oct 2025.

 

[Bigditch]

I had not seen this article before now:

https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/police-treating-500k-morning-blaze-on-major-street-in-kitchener-as-suspicious/article_6abbcf17-d863-5dc6-883f-d27e77c107fa.html#:~:text=This%20site%20is%20protected%20by%20reCAPTCHA%20and,privacy%20policy%20and%20t

The point of fire alarms is presented here.

Paywalled.

 

[Mayjusticeprevail]

Paywalled.

Snip

Waterloo Regional Police are looking into a “suspicious” fire Sunday morning on Major Street in Kitchener.
Tenants at the three-unit home sat on lawn chairs across the street as Kitchener firefighters sifted through the remains of the morning blaze. Police said, the two-storey building suffered significant damage.
Firefighters were called to the fire, in the Civic Centre area of the city, after fire alarms went off in the home around 6 a.m.

 

[Bigditch]

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.

Spa Day means pampering, self care, that sort of thing.

 

[Ghostwheel]

Looking at the images, you can see the bathroom window is not scorched. Image 4 screenshot of video from @Mayjusticeprevail above far left. In the shot below you can see the front was completely scorched (zoom in). Any drapes hanging across the slider would be a good arson point, imo, but would go up so fast, how would anyone be sure they could get away fast enough? Of course, it depends on the fabric. Polyester or nylon burns slower and melts. Cotton or linen or rayon burn faster and only ash is left, iirc.

Six weeks since Eli Wood’s mysterious disappearance and still no answers

Waterloo Regional Police have issued a public plea about online speculation in Eli Wood's disappearance.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[Ghostwheel]

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.

View attachment 640786

As a thought, many landlords put in various types of cameras as it helps should any tenants complain about issues outside the rental units. In my area, we have rentals with Ring cameras and/or perimeter cameras, both motion and constant on depending on the landlord.

And maybe this is one of those places with no cameras. It could happen. But I don't think so. I'd like to think LE is trying to distill information.

 

[ttcRider]

There really isn't a lot of time to do much once the smoke detector goes off. If the alarm went off at around 6am the tenants would have been alerted and seen anything suspicious. Who ever was involved with his disappearance would have had to been quick and planned. With a multi unit like that the least someone would do is look out their window? JMO

 

[Bigditch]

Do we know if the apartment Eli lived in was a legal dwelling?

 

[iamshadow21]

Do we know if the apartment Eli lived in was a legal dwelling?

Could it be listed on a real estate website if it wasn't?

 

[Mayjusticeprevail]

Do we know if the apartment Eli lived in was a legal dwelling?

The real estate video for the 3 unit rental home called the rear unit a self-contained unit. A bachelor or nanny suite.

Link to video