CANADA Canada - Francis Harris, 45, Peterborough, ON, 21 April 1972

[TheArtfulDetective]

Francis Muriel Harris



Missing since: April 21, 1972
Location missing: Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Case Classification: Endangered missing

Description:
Year of Birth: 1926
Age at disappearance : 45
Gender: Female
Bio group: White
Eye colour: Brown
Hair: Grey, white, short, wavy, may have been dyed black
Height: 155cm / 5 ft 1 in
Weight: 45kg / 99lb
Aliases/Nicknames: Francis Fontaine. Francis Johnson.
Distinguishing characteristics: False teeth. Wears glasses.
Clothing/Jewelry/Personal Items: Pink cardigan sweater. Black pants. Black low cut, pull-on shoes. White gold engagement and wedding ring.

Circumstances of Disappearance:
On Friday, April 21, 1972, Francis Harris went to a medical appointment with her husband in Peterborough. On the way home to Apsley, they stopped in Lakefield and she may have gone to the post office and the bank. They arrived home around 11:00 a.m. and ate lunch. Her husband went to work from approximately 1:00 p.m. to 5:05 p.m. When their son returned home from school at about 3:40 p.m., Harris was not home. She did not take any personal belongings with her and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.


Investigators:

1. Peterborough County OPP: OPP MPUB 1-877-934-6363; 1-705-330-4144; [email protected]; [email protected]
   Reference Case#: RM10110632
   
   
2. Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS(8477) or online at Canadian Crime Stoppers Association
   Crime Stoppers provides anonymous tipping
   
   
3. Send email to the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains at: [email protected]

Canada's Missing | Case details

 

[R.R. Scott]

Thanks for posting this!

I am the private investigator currently handling this case on a volunteer basis on behalf of Please Bring Me Home. PBMH is a non-profit organization of volunteer investigators who assist families with searching for and bringing media and police attention to missing loved ones.

Please Bring Me Home

- Please Bring Me Home

In July, August and September 2021, I published a three-part series of articles in Apsley Backroads Magazine about this case, which adds more detail:

July 2021 – Apsley Backroads
August 2021 – Apsley Backroads
September 2021 – Apsley Backroads

I am in regular contact with Francis's family and the detectives from the OPP assigned to this case. Any information would help, so please forward your tips if you have one to the above sources or directly to PBMH and myself:

Please Bring Me Home tip line: 1-226-702-2728.
You may also contact the author, Private Investigator Ryan Scott at [email protected]

 

[MamaHasABigButt]

Was hoping to see some traction here. I hope she can be brought home.

 

[agathaholmes79]

Saw this case of Unsolved Canada and the more I read the more information I found out, the more all leads point to something sinister. Thoughts to the family as they must deal with a big loss.
It just seems like there are more questions than answers. A woman that cares enough to put her makeup in the fridge would care enough to take it with her if she was "abandoning" her family and hitting the road. And the fact that her purse was left behind and the fact that her SIN and health card had not been used would lead to the conclusion that she perished or she walked away from her family and identity, but why?
A few things do not make sense to me about this case.
Did Francis regularly go with Stan to his physio appointments?
June's brother and his statements to OPP. why recant his statement? Did MTO not have documentation of what cars were registered to him?
And odd that June ended up marrying Stan. Formerly her brother-in-law.
Most mothers take their children clothes shopping. Especially in 1972. Why all of a sudden would Stan take his son clothes clothing in Peterborough the day following Francis' disappearance?
And what sticks out is that in this area and surrounding areas are provincial parks, Conservation Areas, Wetland Wildlife areas, beaches and Lakes. Were licenses plates recorded back in '72 of daily visitors?
And the infamous blue car witnessed by numerous people. Could it have been a mistake as Francis' son had a similar car and visited the house days following her disappearance?
The fact that Stan did not report his own wife missing seems suspicious. If you loved someone and they just disappeared, you would think to let people know especially the police. OHHH and the fact they gave Stan a polygraph test that was inconclusive - alarm bells are sounding.
It is sad to think that a lot of things were either overlooked or missed. Facts and evidence, not rumors or speculation. I hope this case could be solved for Francis' family.

 

[dotr]

By Todd Vandonk Mykawartha.com
May 27, 2021

BEHIND THE CRIMES: Seemingly 'irrelevant' information can break a case wide open: Fresh eyes focus on disappearance

Francis Harris, who would be 94 if she were alive today, vanished from Apsley 49 years ago on April 21, 1972.

www.simcoe.com

Peterborough County OPP have released a photo of Francis Muriel Harris (nee Johnson) from 1972 (left), along with a sketch of what she may have looked like at the age of 65. Francis disappeared from the Apsley area on April 21, 1972. - Peterborough County OPP photo

''Fresh pairs of eyes are looking into the disappearance of Francis Harris.
Harris, who would be 94 if she were alive today, went missing from Apsley in 1972 when she was 45 years old.
Her disappearance remains an unsolved mystery despite valiant efforts by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).''

''Harris is listed at five-foot one-inch tall, 100 pounds, with dark hair and brown eyes. She was believed to be wearing glasses, a blouse, black shoes, a pink and black cardigan, and a white gold engagement and wedding rings at the time of her disappearance.''

 

[dotr]

ByTodd VandonkReporter November 7, 2023 rbbm

OPP return to Francis Harris’ Apsley home to dig for missing woman’s remains

Francis Harris vanished 51 years ago and would be 97 if she were alive today

www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com

''Just as he did almost 11 years ago to the day, Rod Harris stands by patiently on the property of his childhood home watching as police search for his mother’s remains.
Armed with shovels and a backhoe, members of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) excavated some of the property of Francis Harris’ former home on Highway 28, in Apsley on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Harris vanished 51 years ago and she would be 97 if she were alive today.''

''On Tuesday, several officers dug with shovels inside an old barn while a backhoe excavated dirt behind the barn.''

''Harris is listed at five-foot-one-inch tall, 100 pounds, with dark hair and brown eyes. She was believed to be wearing glasses, a blouse, black shoes, a pink and black cardigan, and white gold engagement and wedding rings at the time of her disappearance.
Anyone with information is requested to contact the Peterborough County Detachment at 705-742-0401 or 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.stopcrimehere.ca''