Found Deceased Canada - Holly Ellsworth-Clark, 27, Hamilton ON, 11 Jan 2020

[Factoria]

How close is this(unrelated?) news from yesterday?
Boy,7,shot inside his Hamilton, Ontario home, 23 Jan.2020*suspects sought*

It's pretty close... less than 5 minute drive from Holly's apartment.

 

[dotr]

Opinion | Paul Berton: Search for a missing woman brings out well-intentioned volunteers and unfounded ‘news’
''The mystery of Holly Ellsworth-Clark has drawn in a growing number of people over the last two weeks: family, friends, police, journalists, readers, volunteers — and ignited debate on social media.

The 27-year-old was last seen in Hamilton near Sanford and Barton streets Jan. 11. There have been lots of stories about her possible whereabouts, and lots of speculation.
But no news.
There have been no confirmed sightings since, no credible information, and no suspicion of foul play, police say, despite many tips, much conjecture and many stories, accounts and accusations.

All we know for sure is her family members, who arrived in Hamilton from points east and west, are in despair, like those of so many other missing persons. Indeed, Ellsworth-Clark was herself in crisis when she disappeared.

In their search, the family is discovering what a Spectator story this week described as "an ugly underbelly of Hamilton'' — an underbelly that exists in most cities, an underbelly too many of us choose to ignore, yet which is not necessarily implicated here.''

 

[Factoria]

I feel compelled to mention that not ALL of Hamilton is so sketchy, as is likely true of almost any city in any province, state, or even country, I suppose... I've lived here most of my life, aside from a few years in Edmonton, Alberta. Hamilton is known by several 'nicknames': Waterfall Capital of the World (we have over 100 waterfalls, which are breathtaking), Steeltown (steel manufacturing is a huge industry here), and The Armpit of Ontario (which, IMO, is a pretty accurate description of a fairly good chunk of the stretch that's north of Main Street). The bad is certainly frighteningly bad, but the good is wonderfully good.

 

[dotr]

I feel compelled to mention that not ALL of Hamilton is so sketchy, as is likely true of almost any city in any province, state, or even country, I suppose... I've lived here most of my life, aside from a few years in Edmonton, Alberta. Hamilton is known by several 'nicknames': Waterfall Capital of the World (we have over 100 waterfalls, which are breathtaking), Steeltown (steel manufacturing is a huge industry here), and The Armpit of Ontario (which, IMO, is a pretty accurate description of a fairly good chunk of the stretch that's north of Main Street). The bad is certainly frighteningly bad, but the good is wonderfully good.

Hamilton has lots of amazing, beautiful and artsy places to go and to see.
The Hamilton Spectator is an excellent newspaper, imo. and of course they have McMaster University.
There are some who feel that various crime groups have been infiltrating the city and profiting by essentially impoverishing everybody else one way or another.
complete speculation, imo.
There are worse places judging by this handy interactive link..
Canada's Most Dangerous Places 2020 - Macleans.ca
''Canada’s Most Dangerous Places 2020
Published November 19, 2019
Explore Canada’s crime data with our in-depth interactive tool and see how your community ranks. The ranking tool is set to show the Violent Crime Severity Index by default — click “All Crime” to see a ranking of the most dangerous places by crime severity index.''
FEATURE: Canada’s worst violent crime problem is in Thompson, Man. »

 

[dotr]

Jan 25 2020
Search for Holly Clarke continues - CHCH
''The search for the missing Hamilton woman Holly Clarke continued this afternoon. It started at the Eucharist Church at 130 Victoria Avenue just before 12:00 p.m. and is expected to last a couple hours this afternoon.

The search is being lead by a group titled “Holly Clarke Search” which aims to assist in finding the 27-year-old.''
''CHCH will have more on the evening news tonight at 6:00 p.m.''

 

[dotr]

Jan 28 2020
Holly Ellsworth-Clark’s family appeal for information about missing daughter with billboard

''A digital billboard at Connaught Avenue North and King Street East displays an appeal for more information on the disappearance of Holly Ellsworth Clark. - Cathie Coward , The Hamilton Spectator

Family and friends of a missing woman have put up a digital billboard in her Hamilton neighbourhood appealing for her safe return.

The Connaught Avenue North and King Street East urges Hamiltonians to call Crime Stoppers with any information about Holly Ellsworth-Clark''.

''Since her disappearance family and friends — many from Calgary where Ellsworth-Clark grew up — have gathered in Hamilton to search for her.

Ellsworth-Clark stands six-foot-one and is approximately 200 pounds, with an athletic build.

Police are asking anyone with information to call 905-546-4925. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestoppershamilton.com. To send a tip to the family, email [email protected].

To find out more about community search efforts, visit Facebook.com and search "Holly Clark Search."

 

[jash]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/searching-missing-holly-ellsworth-clark-1.5436132

Digital billboards with the face of Holly Ellsworth-Clark flash around Hamilton, but her family's hunt for their missing daughter is now moving beyond the city.

After two weeks of fruitless searches and impassioned community outreach, their minds and focus are turning away from Steeltown, looking at Toronto and as far away as Montreal.

They know who they're looking for and they know where they've searched. But little else. ​

 

[dotr]

Olympic wrestler Erica Wiebe pleads for friend's return as billboards go up in search for missing former Calgary woman
''As Canadian Olympic wrestler Erica Wiebe recalled the years she trained and competed with Holly Ellsworth-Clark at university, she encouraged people to share photos and information about the investigation into her missing friend.''

''Before moving to Toronto in 2018 and later Hamilton in 2019 to pursue a career in music, Ellsworth-Clark competed on the University of Calgary Dinos wrestling team alongside Wiebe. The two were in similar weight classes so they often trained together and became close friends.

“In wrestling, there’s a really tight-knit family. Once you’ve wrestled with people you would go to the ends of the earth for those people,” said Wiebe. “She had such an impact on me while we were teammates and I stayed in touch with her when she moved.”

''The day before she went missing, Ellsworth-Clark left a voice-mail message in which she told her parents she’d been running through the woods all night from two men. Her roommates had also called 911 in the days leading up to her disappearance because they were worried she was suffering from a mental breakdown after she broke into her own home through a window.''
''Anyone with information about Ellsworth-Clark’s whereabouts is encouraged to contact Hamilton police detective John Obrovac at 905-546-3816, detective Dave Oleniuk at 905-546-3833 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers.''

 

[zencompass]

I'm holding onto hope that this beautiful young woman will be found safe, and very soon.

As I read the posts on the public facebook, I was deeply touched by all of the posts offering assistance, distributing posters and setting up search times for certain areas.

It sounds as if Holly's family is well supported by everyone in that community offering assistance.

May Holly be found safe and sound.

 

[MistyWaters]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/searching-missing-holly-ellsworth-clark-1.5436132

Digital billboards with the face of Holly Ellsworth-Clark flash around Hamilton, but her family's hunt for their missing daughter is now moving beyond the city.

After two weeks of fruitless searches and impassioned community outreach, their minds and focus are turning away from Steeltown, looking at Toronto and as far away as Montreal.

They know who they're looking for and they know where they've searched. But little else. ​

The media report you’ve quoted is an excellent feature article by CBC, hopefully which might attract additional information to aid in finding Holly. It’s mystifying how someone can simply disappear in the middle of a highly populated area without a trace.


“When the Clarks arrived in Hamilton, they went to police with few clues about her life in town.

Seventeen days out, not much has changed. The moments and thoughts leading up to Holly leaving are still shrouded in mystery.

"Having an idea of what exactly went on is sort of fundamental and we still don't know that," Clark says.

"The police are having an enormous problem with that, as are we, and we're trying to piece it together as best we can, but we're still fundamentally in the dark," Clark says.

Few clues
What clues do they have?

A window pane beneath Holly's room, which sits above a storefront, was boarded up after she shattered it trying to enter her home on Jan. 10 — the day before she left.

It may have been out of fear strangers were following her. She told her parents two men chased her through the forest days earlier.

Her roommates say they called 911 worried about her mental health, spurring Holly's brother and sister, Caleb and Kate, to travel from Toronto to visit.

But Holly was upset before that. She was coping after a break-up with her guitar player boyfriend and the end of her band — part of why she moved to Hamilton from Toronto in October 2019.....”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/searching-missing-holly-ellsworth-clark-1.5436132

 

[levothium]

Hi All,
I have been following this story closely and have exhausted my search online. I have a few thoughts to add.

- I'm a mental health professional by career. There are many indicators in this case that suggest Holly may have been suffering from a possible manic or psychotic episode. She is in an age range for things like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia to declare themselves. But I'm leaning more towards bipolar disorder. If you look at her history, she is very high functioning. She was able to jump into music at a late age, and with great talent. This is suggestive of possible hypomania. When people proceed from hypomania to mania, they can have psychotic symptoms. She thought two men were chasing her "all night". Well, hopefully this wasn't the case - but manic people can have delusions of persecution and manic people also have irregular sleep patterns.

- Manic people also make impulsive/ poor decisions. Her family believes she left her home impulsively and without proper clothing, etc. This could be another sign.

- Regardless of whether or not she was experiencing mania or psychosis - she remains missing. I am troubled by a seeming lack of discussion or public announcement from her roommates or friends in Hamilton. Who were her friends? What do they know? Are they sharing information freely? This isn't a time to withhold pertinent information (such as whether she was using drugs, etc.). What do we know about the ex-boyfriend?

Just my thoughts...

 

[dotr]

Hi All,
I have been following this story closely and have exhausted my search online. I have a few thoughts to add.

- I'm a mental health professional by career. There are many indicators in this case that suggest Holly may have been suffering from a possible manic or psychotic episode. She is in an age range for things like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia to declare themselves. But I'm leaning more towards bipolar disorder. If you look at her history, she is very high functioning. She was able to jump into music at a late age, and with great talent. This is suggestive of possible hypomania. When people proceed from hypomania to mania, they can have psychotic symptoms. She thought two men were chasing her "all night". Well, hopefully this wasn't the case - but manic people can have delusions of persecution and manic people also have irregular sleep patterns.

- Manic people also make impulsive/ poor decisions. Her family believes she left her home impulsively and without proper clothing, etc. This could be another sign.

- Regardless of whether or not she was experiencing mania or psychosis - she remains missing. I am troubled by a seeming lack of discussion or public announcement from her roommates or friends in Hamilton. Who were her friends? What do they know? Are they sharing information freely? This isn't a time to withhold pertinent information (such as whether she was using drugs, etc.). What do we know about the ex-boyfriend?

Just my thoughts...

Welcome to Ws levothium, thanks for the insight!

 

[dotr]

Just a thought, did Holly leave her guitar and/or other musical equipment behind, any evidence that she might have been trying to sell it or to buy another guitar?

 

[Tealgrove]

Hi All,
I have been following this story closely and have exhausted my search online. I have a few thoughts to add.

- I'm a mental health professional by career. There are many indicators in this case that suggest Holly may have been suffering from a possible manic or psychotic episode. She is in an age range for things like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia to declare themselves. But I'm leaning more towards bipolar disorder. If you look at her history, she is very high functioning. She was able to jump into music at a late age, and with great talent. This is suggestive of possible hypomania. When people proceed from hypomania to mania, they can have psychotic symptoms. She thought two men were chasing her "all night". Well, hopefully this wasn't the case - but manic people can have delusions of persecution and manic people also have irregular sleep patterns.

- Manic people also make impulsive/ poor decisions. Her family believes she left her home impulsively and without proper clothing, etc. This could be another sign.

- Regardless of whether or not she was experiencing mania or psychosis - she remains missing. I am troubled by a seeming lack of discussion or public announcement from her roommates or friends in Hamilton. Who were her friends? What do they know? Are they sharing information freely? This isn't a time to withhold pertinent information (such as whether she was using drugs, etc.). What do we know about the ex-boyfriend?

Just my thoughts...

My thoughts as well.

I'm not a mental health professional but I do have up close and personal experience with a family member who is bipolar and I originally was going down that road. I still am. I just hope she is safe somewhere and she is found very soon.

MOO

 

[levothium]

Just a thought, did Holly leave her guitar and/or other musical equipment behind, any evidence that she might have been trying to sell it or to buy another guitar?

That's a good point. It doesn't appear that she is holding a guitar in the images released by police...

 

[dotr]

That's a good point. It doesn't appear that she is holding a guitar in the images released by police...

The thing i was trying to figure out is, did Holly bring her guitar (looks like she did not) which might suggest she is off somewhere and possibly busking..
Or, did she sell/ trade it for less than healthy activities..
Or, worse- met a bad individual whilst trying to do any of the above speculative suggestions?
At the moment, your theory makes the most sense.
imo, speculation.

 

[MistyWaters]

The thing i was trying to figure out is, did Holly bring her guitar (looks like she did not) which might suggest she is off somewhere and possibly busking..
Or, did she sell/ trade it for less than healthy activities..
Or, worse- met a bad individual whilst trying to do any of the above speculative suggestions?
At the moment, your theory makes the most sense.
imo, speculation.

While nothing is mentioned about a missing guitar, it appears it’s known Holly did have a certain amount of cash with her. How that might be known, perhaps she cashed a check or withdraw money from her bank account prior to her mysterious disappearance. The question would be, was it typical that she carry around cash or was this part of her “in crisis” behaviour. As well, for a typical 27 year-old, leaving behind their cellphone must be highly concerning in itself as that’s a deliberate and intentional act to cut all communication with others, ingoing or outgoing. No traceable banking or cellphone activity, if Molly is somewhere I’d also guess she’s had a psychotic episode where she believes the people she is fleeing from have the capability to track her through those means.

“Surveillance footage from about 4 p.m. shows Holly leaving her home, wearing a black long sleeve shirt, black pants and black boots.

She was upset, distraught and ''in crisis."

Besides some money, she left behind her coat, her phone and almost all other belongings.......

....“She did have some money and would've been able to travel some distance," he says, despite her bank account remaining untouched.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/searching-missing-holly-ellsworth-clark-1.5436132

But on the other hand, if she had been lured into the illegal drug culture and that was the purpose of the cash, considering the recent breakup with her boyfriend and loss of her band, the answer could be as simple as a fatal overdose and her body’s not yet been found especially if she went somewhere by herself. According to the same article, she indeed was drawn to forests, assumably by the peacefulness and solitude they offer. This may be were she’s found depending on snow cover at this time of year. But surely others know of locations she liked to ”rove” because I don’t think Hamilton has any forests in the city? However that scenario could also explain why nobody’s talking because dealers/other users probably aren’t anxious to spill their involvement. ....just thinking out loud (as I type). I have great empathy for Holly’s family and friends, wondering, not knowing where to look or what happened, having no answers at all....

“When Holly wasn't playing at bars and open mic nights, she was roving through forests or scouting out graffiti murals.”

 

[darbnewb]

Is her ex-boyfriend accounted for?
What is the situation with sex trafficking in Hamilton?
Are there any interviews with her roommates or friends?
Do cops have any ideas?
Was she at any bars/public spots the days leading to her disappearance? Can they offer insight into her mental state?
Did she use drugs?
How fresh was this break up?

 

[jash]

<snip>According to the same article, she indeed was drawn to forests, assumably by the peacefulness and solitude they offer. This may be were she’s found depending on snow cover at this time of year. But surely others know of locations she liked to ”rove” because I don’t think Hamilton has any forests in the city? <snip>”

No forests right downtown, but the city does have them. Most of the escarpment separating the lower city from "the Mountain" is treed.

It's been said Holly really liked Albion Falls, which is by King's Forest. Albion Falls - Tourism Hamilton

No clues on her Facebook unfortunately. Holly Clark

 

[dotr]

Welcome to Ws darbnewb, great questions!
Wish we knew the answers to some of them, highlighting some known details below.
rbbm.
Jan 16 2020
‘We’re hopeful, but very worried’: Search for missing Hamilton woman Holly Ellsworth-Clark intensifies
''Ellsworth-Clark left her residence around 4 p.m. Jan. 11, in a state of crisis. Police do not know why she left or where she was going, but say she was not dressed for the weather.

"Our concern is Holly left in a state of crisis and ... Saturday afternoon there was quite the torrential downpour, it was quite cold over the weekend," said Staff Sgt. Dave Oleniuk, who heads the Hamilton police central criminal investigations branch.

Ellsworth-Clark was reported missing Saturday afternoon and officers began looking for her right away, he said. Detectives from the criminal investigations branch began looking into the case Sunday.

The 27-year-old is athletic and was known to run trails, so police have checked nearby trails, including Albion Falls and the rail trail.''

"Our concern is for her safety and our hope is that she simply found shelter locally somewhere and, perhaps, in a disoriented state, is waiting to be found," Oleniuk said.''

''Holly is a wrestler and is very skilled outdoors as the family spent time camping, she said.

Kate said her sister spent time outside to deal with her loneliness, and so the family thinks she may be outside and taking shelter somewhere.''