Detectives seek public’s help in search for woman
Homicide detectives who are now helping investigate the case of an Edmonton woman who has been missing for two months scoured rural properties southeast of the city over the weekend for new evidence and asked the public for help.
Thirty-two-year-old Patricia Wendy Pangracs was last heard from on June 8 and was reported missing by a friend on July 8. The month-long investigation has led police to believe that there are additional, suspicious circumstances involved, but it has been slow to evolve, said Det. Jared Buhler at a news conference Saturday.
“I’m looking for Patricia, alive or dead. The honest answer is that I don’t know if Patricia is alive or dead,” said Buhler.
On Saturday, 24 civilians and five canine units were involved in a co-ordinated search with police across four rural properties immediately surrounding the intersection of Township Road 514 and Range Road 233 in Strathcona County. The missing persons unit that has been investigating the case so far is now collaborating with the homicide department.
While police said nothing of interest was recovered in the ground search, which was completed by Sunday, they did receive new tips as a result of media coverage.
“We’ve come to believe that this is the place she was last seen, or heard from. It’s possible that she left personal belongings in this area, and we’re looking for that or any other evidence that might relate to this investigation. Patricia might have sought shelter on an acreage or farm around here,” said Buhler.
On June 7, Pangracs was spotted at a gas station in the town of Bruderheim, approximately 50 minutes northeast of Edmonton, in a 2011 white Cadillac CTS with damage to its front bumper. A photograph taken in that gas station is the latest image police were able to obtain of Pangracs, and police believe she was wearing the same clothing in the photograph that she was wearing when she went missing.
Police also released a map of a route in Beaumont that they believe Pangracs travelled on her way to the intersection in rural Strathcona. That route includes 60 Avenue to Rue Montalet, 50 Street, and Township Road 510 to the intersection of Township Road 514 and Range Road 233. They asked residents of Beaumont who may have exterior security cameras on that route to check footage from the night of June 8, between 3:30 a.m. to 6 a.m., for any vehicle or pedestrian activity and contact police.
“What happened between Beaumont and here is where we are focusing our efforts,” said Buhler.
Pangracs left the Cadillac at some point that morning and was on foot when she was last spotted, said Buhler.
A number of people Pangracs associated with were involved in series of conflicts known to police, some of which resulted in violence and criminal activity, both before and after her disappearance, Buhler said. While not releasing the details of the investigation, Buhler said that those circumstances — some of which involved Pangracs directly — have led police to be concerned about Pangracs’ well-being.
“In the circles that she was travelling with, people might be reluctant to speak to the police — they may even have a little bit of jeopardy in some of these incidents, but we can assure them that if they are talking to us that we want to know about Patricia, and that will be the focus of our discussion with them,” said Buhler.
Pangracs is described as fivefoot-five and 130 lbs. with black hair and brown eyes.
“Due to the large area of land we are searching, we are also asking residents who live or have property in the area of Range Road 233 and Township Road 514 to check their properties, sheds and other outbuildings for anything unusual,” says Buhler.
-With files from Anna Junker