The sisters of a missing Toronto woman are reaching out to the city’s Chinese community in hopes of finding their sibling who was last seen in Hong Kong.
“It’s frustrating not knowing where she is (or) if she’s safe,” said younger sister, Sossy Ashekian, 28, who just returned from a search expedition in Hong Kong on Saturday.
Her sister, Ani Ashekian, 30, left Toronto for Beijing on Oct. 24 and was in contact with family members regularly through phone and e-mail until early November when she stopped sending and returning messages.
“It’s not in her character to not contact her family and that’s why we know she needs help,” Sossy said at a news conference at the Star Walk Chinese Buffet in Scarborough.
“She called my mom every day. My mom lives in Windsor, she lives in Toronto. It’s not like her to do that and leave my mom not knowing,” said older sister, Rosie Kampstra, 33.
The last time they heard from their sister was Nov. 10, when she text messaged to wish her niece a happy birthday.
The Toronto paralegal was travelling around Asia alone and was expected to finish her trip in New Delhi for a yoga retreat, but Ashekian never boarded her return flight to Toronto on Dec. 15.
The story has been well-publicized in Chinese media, especially when Sossy and Ani’s boyfriend, Wendell Walsh, travelled to the territory in hopes of finding her. There is a committed group of volunteers who have been handing out leaflets daily in the densely populated city. During Sossy’s trip, 3,000 flyers were distributed.
They have increased their reward from $8,000 to $15,000.
There were several sightings of the missing woman in early December. One major lead was video surveillance of a nervous woman — believed to be Ani — withdrawing funds from an ATM machine at the Causeway Bay MTR Station.
Her sisters say she often uses her credit card when travelling, but there were no transactions on her card since she went missing. The family filed a request to her bank before Christmas to see if there was activity but they have been blocked because of confidentiality reasons.
The case is now being handled by Hong Kong police, foreign affairs and Toronto Police.
Scarborough-Agincourt MP, Jim Karyglannis, was also present said he will be speaking with Indian consulars on his trade mission to India this week to see if Ashekian has crossed the border, though her passport suggests she is still in Hong Kong.
“I will be reaching into my Chinese community ... (asking them) to reach back home and in China and Hong Kong and assist this family and make sure we find Ani,” he said.
The boyfriend of the Toronto woman Wendell Walsh, vowed he will not give up until she returns home safely.
"It's terrifying to have someone that you love missing, but we're staying hopeful. We're filled with hope, and I will stay filled with hope until she returns safely," Wenddell Walsh told CTV's Canada AM.
The family has also started a trust fund to pay for the cost of a private investigation, and is offering a reward for information on her whereabouts.
Walsh said he worked with local police while in Hong Kong, and together they determined Ashekian had used an ATM in Causeway Bay, a shopping district, on the same day she sent the text message, Nov. 10.
Security camera footage from the ATM shows Ashekian making the withdrawal, he said.
According to some reports, Ashekian withdrew two large cash advances from her account on the last day she was heard from.
Walsh said there have been no other reported sightings of Ashekian.
He is at a loss as to explain what may have happened to his girlfriend.
"It's definitely not in her character," Walsh said.
"Her character is actually the opposite. She's very responsible, very well travelled and on all of her other journeys she's kept in close contact with her family. Her family is very important to her."
The family has also set up a website, with information about Ani, as well as posting pictures of her on the site, the address for the website is http://www.findani.com/ in the hopes of drawing further widespread attention to the case, A facebook group has also been setup for Ani, You can join by going to it directly here. To find out how you can help out, email findani@gmail.com.
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