Aug. 12, 2025

The Disappearance of Melanie Ethier

The Disappearance of Melanie Ethier

We’re taking a short break and using this time to amplify the voices of other creators we love in the true crime space. This week we’re bringing you a story from Alecia - host of Truly Twisted (AND Twisted & Uncorked)! Follow the show @itstrulytwisted on Instagram and @trulytwisted on TikTok as well as the host @littleleesha.

On September 29, 1996. Just after 2am, in the quiet Ontario town of New Liskeard, 15‑year‑old Melanie Ethier vanished while walking home from her friend's house.  Tune in for the baffling story and the theories surrounding her disappearance.

Visit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! If you have any true crime, paranormal, or witchy stories you'd like to share with us & possibly have them read (out loud) on an episode, email us at pnwhauntsandhomicides@gmail.com or use this link. There are so many ways that you can support the show:BuyMeACoffee,Spreaker,or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts.

For more information about the show or Fire Eyes Media you can visit our website at https://www.fireeyesmedia.com & don't forget to check out our other incredible shows while you are there.

Resources used in this episode:
https://www.ctvnews.ca/northern-ontario/article/still-missing-melanie-ethier/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Melanie_Ethier
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1018-the-next-call/episode/15848324-the-case-of-melanie-ethier-episode-1
https://www.northbaynipissing.com/news/new-info-prompts-search-of-north-cobalt-in-25-year-old-melanie-ethier-case/article_50bff8d5-9fa6-5398-af40-6339c853fa14.html

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:08.320
Fireeyes Media. On September twenty ninth, nineteen ninety six, just

2
00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:12.240
after two am in the quiet Ontario town of New Liscard,

3
00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:16.399
fifteen year old Melanie Etier left her friend's house and

4
00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:19.519
started the six block walk to her own home. This

5
00:00:19.719 --> 00:00:22.519
was a walk that she did often, but this time

6
00:00:22.600 --> 00:00:43.079
she manashed, leaving her family with unanswered questions and unimaginable loss.

7
00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:49.079
Hello and welcome to another episode of Truly Twisted. As always,

8
00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:52.759
I'm your host, Alicia Watson, and every Thursday, I will

9
00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:56.079
be bringing you a story that is always victim focused

10
00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:59.640
and fact based. Today we will be talking about the

11
00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:04.359
disc appearance of Melanie Ettier. Melanie Ettier was born on

12
00:01:04.439 --> 00:01:09.359
Christmas Day, nineteen eighty to her mother, Seln. Unfortunately, her

13
00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:12.959
dad wasn't really in the picture. From what I understand,

14
00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:16.319
he lived in Botswana and he and Seln met while

15
00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:19.280
he was attending school in a neighboring town from her.

16
00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:23.760
He was relocated back home after his schooling was complete.

17
00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:27.480
Seln was a great mother though, raising Melanie and her

18
00:01:27.519 --> 00:01:32.280
sister Jesse in New Liscard in Ontario. The family moved

19
00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:35.439
there when the girls were just six and five years old.

20
00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:40.200
Melanie was always very maternal and protective towards her sister.

21
00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:44.159
This was a very small, close knit community with about

22
00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:48.319
forty four hundred people. Melanie and her sister Jesse were

23
00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:51.200
two of only four black girls living in the community

24
00:01:51.239 --> 00:01:54.840
as well, so that raised challenges for the young teens

25
00:01:54.959 --> 00:01:59.200
at times. Melanie was an honor student at Saint Marie

26
00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:03.359
Catholic Second and she worked at the attached daycare. They

27
00:02:03.400 --> 00:02:06.159
would open early in the mornings and be open later

28
00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:09.520
after school, and Melanie loved working there because she wanted

29
00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:12.479
to be a teacher when she graduated. She had a

30
00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:15.759
good heart and she was close with her family. Her

31
00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:18.639
friends described her as being the salts of the earth.

32
00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:22.639
On Saturday, September twenty eighth, Melanie was hanging out with

33
00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:25.479
one of her best friends. The two girls spent the

34
00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:29.520
afternoon running errands together. They had lunch at Pizza Pizza

35
00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:32.719
and dreamed of what their futures would look like, talked

36
00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:35.879
about their goals. They also went to the home of

37
00:02:35.879 --> 00:02:38.840
one of Melanie's babysitting jobs to pick up her payment

38
00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:42.280
for the last two sits that she did. The next day,

39
00:02:42.280 --> 00:02:45.560
the family was hosting a birthday party for Melanie's grandmother,

40
00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:48.319
and she was planning on getting up early for work

41
00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:51.479
the next day and then making her grandma's cake before

42
00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:54.599
the party. Part of the girl's errands that day was

43
00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:56.960
picking up all of the ingredients for that as well

44
00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:00.120
as a gift for her. While out and about, the

45
00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:04.319
girls ran into Neil Fortier, Melanie's boyfriend, and a few

46
00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:08.000
of his friends. The group all made plans to rent

47
00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:11.719
a movie and watch it together. There was a video

48
00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:15.159
rental place close to Melanie's house, so they suggested that

49
00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:18.759
they watch it over there. She just had to check

50
00:03:18.800 --> 00:03:22.560
with her mom first. They stopped at the video store

51
00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:26.919
between nine and nine thirty pm and rented Sudden Death.

52
00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:30.240
They then walked to her place and Melanie asked her

53
00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:32.159
mom if it was okay for them to watch the

54
00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:36.599
movie there. Melanie's grandmother was over visiting and her room

55
00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:39.960
was crazy messy and she had to clean it before

56
00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.199
she could have any friends in there, so her mom

57
00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:44.439
suggested that maybe they go to one of the other

58
00:03:44.520 --> 00:03:48.039
teens homes this time around. The group then made their

59
00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:51.719
way from Melanie's and se Lynne watched her daughter walk

60
00:03:51.759 --> 00:03:55.360
away with her friends for the last time. That was

61
00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:58.039
the last time that she would see or hear from Melanie.

62
00:03:58.759 --> 00:04:02.719
It has been twenty eight years since she disappeared, and

63
00:04:02.759 --> 00:04:05.039
her mom still fights for her story to get out

64
00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:10.240
there in hopes of answers. Someday, someone always knows something.

65
00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:14.520
At around ten PM, they arrived at the home of

66
00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:17.759
Ryan Chatwin, one of Neil's friends, to watch the movie.

67
00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:22.759
This was about six blocks from Melanie's house. The teens

68
00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:24.959
watched the movie in the basement of the home and

69
00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:30.160
Ryan's parents were upstairs. No drugs or alcohol were consumed

70
00:04:30.199 --> 00:04:32.600
by any of the teens that night, And I just

71
00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:35.480
feel like this is important to mention because I would

72
00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:37.920
never want there to be theories that stray too far

73
00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:42.600
when it comes to Melanie's disappearance. One of Neil's friends

74
00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:45.680
and the girlfriend that Melanie had gone there with had

75
00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:48.160
to leave before the movie ended in order to catch

76
00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:51.160
a ride. Her friend was going to get a ride

77
00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:55.120
home from Melanie's grandmother and left between twelve thirty am

78
00:04:55.240 --> 00:05:00.839
and one am. She noted following Melanie's disappearance vicious vehicle

79
00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:04.839
as she crossed the street. It approached her slowly, and

80
00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:08.639
it immediately made her feel panicked, like it was assessing

81
00:05:08.680 --> 00:05:11.079
her or something because it was dark and there were

82
00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:15.040
headlights on, she couldn't see the driver. She raced the

83
00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:17.560
six blocks to Melanie's home and got her ride with

84
00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:21.560
her grandmother. She is believed to have taken the same

85
00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:25.920
route that Melanie would have. The vehicle she encountered has

86
00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.879
been described as a white or light colored Chevrolet Monte

87
00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:34.480
Carlo or similar two door model, with signs of being

88
00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:38.279
in poor condition, including a gray patch on the side

89
00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:41.399
which was likely hiding a hole or some other damage.

90
00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:45.839
Another woman had reported an unsettling interaction with the same

91
00:05:45.920 --> 00:05:49.560
vehicle hours earlier, when she was walking her dog and

92
00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:53.560
the car pulled over to ask for directions. She felt

93
00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:57.279
very uneasy and her dog began barking viciously as they

94
00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:01.319
rapidly drove off. At around from two am on September

95
00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:04.120
twenty ninth, Melanie left to make her way home and

96
00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:07.560
begin the short walk. Like I said, this was a

97
00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:10.519
walk that she had done before. She was very familiar

98
00:06:10.600 --> 00:06:14.639
with these streets. Melanie's route would have taken her through

99
00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:19.600
three intersections, over the Armstrong Bridge, past a gas station

100
00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:23.160
and apartment building, up a back alley or along a

101
00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:26.920
main road, and then finally to the top of Church Street,

102
00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:31.360
where the Ethier residence was located. The last stretch of

103
00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:34.040
her route past the bridge would have been poorly lit,

104
00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:36.839
but there was a full moon that night, believed to

105
00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:39.759
have providing a little bit of natural light, but there

106
00:06:39.800 --> 00:06:42.199
were no street lights along that back road where the

107
00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:46.279
video store was located by her house. Se Lynne was

108
00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:48.680
woken up the next morning at six am when she

109
00:06:48.720 --> 00:06:52.040
heard Melanie's alarm clock going off in her room, but

110
00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:55.680
the alarm never stopped. When she went into check on her,

111
00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.680
she was not in her room. She didn't panic right

112
00:06:59.720 --> 00:07:03.480
away because it wasn't uncharacteristic of Melanie to spend the

113
00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:05.800
night sleeping at a friend's house if it was too late,

114
00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:08.920
so she turned off the alarm and went back to

115
00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:13.959
sleep until around nine am. At ten am, Melanie's grandparents

116
00:07:14.079 --> 00:07:17.920
arrived for her grandmother's party, and when Melanie still didn't

117
00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:22.920
return home, they started to worry. Selyn and Melanie's grandfather

118
00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:26.199
drove to the tim Hortons to purchase the cake and

119
00:07:26.279 --> 00:07:30.639
ask around about Melanie. Seln learned that Melanie had left

120
00:07:30.720 --> 00:07:34.240
Ryan's house that night before, and she was filled with dread.

121
00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:37.680
She had also not shown up for her babysitting job

122
00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:42.160
earlier that morning. Selynn then reported her daughter as missing

123
00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:47.279
at one pm with the New Liscard Police. Local police

124
00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:50.959
requested the assistance of the Ontario Provincial Police in the

125
00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:54.720
earlier days of the search, bringing in a helicopter, a

126
00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:59.959
police dog team, and search and rescue. They searched everywhere,

127
00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:04.360
ground and air. And what's even more unsettling is that

128
00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:08.000
there was no direction, lead, or scent of her with

129
00:08:08.120 --> 00:08:12.160
the dog teams. It's like she simply vanished into thin air.

130
00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:17.399
Police checked surveillance videos along Melanie's likely route, and friends

131
00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:22.199
and neighbors were interviewed extensively. By October eighth, an underwater

132
00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:25.079
search and rescue team began a three day search of

133
00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:28.279
the Wabi River between the Armstrong Bridge that she would

134
00:08:28.279 --> 00:08:32.840
have crossed and the lake that I fed into. According

135
00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:35.799
to the Ettier family, a single item may have been

136
00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:38.559
recovered by police on the first day of the search,

137
00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:43.320
but it was never made public. Melanie had no reason

138
00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:47.440
to leave the community and foul play was absolutely suspected

139
00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:53.240
in her disappearance. Selina and volunteers from the community distributed

140
00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:57.720
posters in New Liscard and communities as far as Timmins, Ottawa,

141
00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:03.240
and even Montreal and Quebec. Despite these efforts, sadly, the

142
00:09:03.320 --> 00:09:07.639
search went cold, but eyewitness statements do confirm that she

143
00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:09.519
at least made it to the north end of the

144
00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:14.360
bridge on her walk. In twenty twenty one, an anonymous

145
00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:18.360
tip came in, leading the police team to Laroque Field,

146
00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:23.120
which was roughly ten kilometers from Melanie's last location, but

147
00:09:23.200 --> 00:09:26.240
nothing was recovered or noted as relevant in the search.

148
00:09:27.399 --> 00:09:32.519
Selyyn considers North Cobalt Cemetery to be the most likely

149
00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:36.240
spot where Melanie's body could be buried. As one of

150
00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:40.240
the suspects. Dennis Labell worked for the cemetery and was

151
00:09:40.360 --> 00:09:44.600
very familiar with the surrounding areas. So let's get into

152
00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:49.360
suspects and theories. There are three viable theories in my

153
00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:53.799
opinion when it comes to Melanie's disappearance. She was abducted

154
00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:57.200
on her way home, either by a stranger or a local.

155
00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.960
But a stranger seems more possible as there was three

156
00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:05.240
weddings happening in town that weekend, with celebrations happening just

157
00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:09.279
a street over from Ryan's house. Somebody, maybe a little

158
00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:12.399
too drunk, saw her walking home and decided to take

159
00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:16.200
advantage of her. The highway off ramp was also right

160
00:10:16.279 --> 00:10:18.480
near the main street that she would have walked down.

161
00:10:19.159 --> 00:10:21.480
If somebody grabbed her, it would have been easy to

162
00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:26.559
disappear into the night, which is truly haunting. Dennis LaBelle

163
00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:29.480
was in a long term relationship with Sullyn's best friend,

164
00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:34.200
Sylvie Chartrand. Sylvie had a sixteen year old daughter who

165
00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:38.159
was also friends with Melanie and her sister Jesse. The

166
00:10:38.279 --> 00:10:41.720
day after Melanie was reported missing, her grandmother had a

167
00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:46.320
relatively unnerving encounter with Dennis and went down to the

168
00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:50.200
basement to smoke a cigarette in Melanie's home. This was

169
00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:52.960
already weird because he had never gone down there and

170
00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:56.879
Celine didn't allow smoking in her house. He told the

171
00:10:56.960 --> 00:11:00.159
person who harmed her granddaughter would have to have been

172
00:11:00.320 --> 00:11:04.279
very strong, as she was capable of defending herself, showing

173
00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:07.879
her deep nail marks on his arms, which he said

174
00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:12.240
Melanie had made when they were play fighting. At this point,

175
00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:16.279
Seln became very suspicious of Dennis, as, according to his

176
00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:19.080
own versions of events, he had gone out of town

177
00:11:19.159 --> 00:11:23.120
on the friday before Melanie disappeared and only returned after

178
00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:26.919
she was reported missing, making it impossible for him to

179
00:11:26.960 --> 00:11:30.080
have encountered Melanie when she visited Sylvie's home on the

180
00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:34.039
morning of September twenty eighth, that and neither of Sylvie's

181
00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:39.039
children had ever reported seeing them playfight. The wounds also

182
00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:44.240
looked fairly recent. In the years following these interactions, Celyne

183
00:11:44.360 --> 00:11:49.480
distanced her family from Denis over her suspicions. On two occasions,

184
00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:51.960
he called seln while he was in a hotel room,

185
00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:56.840
threatening suicide. On both occasions, she ran to his aid,

186
00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:59.279
believing that he was prepared to make some sort of

187
00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:02.240
deathbed candes profession about his role in her daughter's case,

188
00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:07.600
but he never did. Interestingly, he apparently had a long

189
00:12:07.759 --> 00:12:12.240
history of making sexual advances against miners and even served

190
00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:16.039
jail time for it. In twenty twenty one, Sylvie admitted

191
00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:19.639
that six of her daughter's friends had come forward describing

192
00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:23.720
how Dennis had sexually harassed or assaulted them. A friend

193
00:12:23.799 --> 00:12:26.639
later told police that on one occasion, when Denis Leavell

194
00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:30.799
had spotted an unfamiliar black girl in town, he commented

195
00:12:30.840 --> 00:12:34.039
that he had an affinity for quote unquote black chocolate.

196
00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:38.919
On one occasion around two thousand, Dennis Leavell followed one

197
00:12:38.919 --> 00:12:41.399
of his daughter's friends into the sun room of his

198
00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:44.080
house and told the girl that he wanted her to

199
00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:49.279
experience an orgasm, which is so disgusting. And years later,

200
00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:52.840
Dennis was briefly jailed for sexually assaulting one of his

201
00:12:52.960 --> 00:12:56.679
daughter's friends in the family home while everyone was asleep,

202
00:12:57.200 --> 00:13:00.799
but he was acquitted in court and released, which like why.

203
00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:05.200
In twenty fourteen, Dennis Lavelle was sentenced to serve time

204
00:13:05.240 --> 00:13:08.759
in prison after pleading guilty to a similar offense, and

205
00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:13.039
he was released after several months. On multiple occasions, he

206
00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:16.879
lured teenage girls to a hotel room, often telling them

207
00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:21.080
that he needed a babysitter for a fictional child. Around

208
00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:25.639
ten years after Melanie disappeared, Dennis lard her younger sister, Jesse,

209
00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:29.960
with a similar trick. Dennis's father had recently died, and

210
00:13:30.039 --> 00:13:33.320
he offered Jesse to do some cleaning for his mother's

211
00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:36.399
house that afternoon, but instead he drove her to a

212
00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:40.200
hotel on the outskirts of New Liscard. He coaxed her

213
00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:44.960
inside with this imaginary cleaning job, and Dennis locked the

214
00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:50.799
door and consumed cocaine strip naked, made sexual comments towards her,

215
00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:54.840
sat on the bed used the hot tub for about

216
00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:57.679
four hours while Jesse was just pretending to text on

217
00:13:57.720 --> 00:14:01.720
her phone and avoid his advances. Jesse had plans to

218
00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:04.559
meet her boyfriend at around two forty five that day

219
00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:08.559
and finally convinced Dennis to let her leave, which is

220
00:14:08.600 --> 00:14:11.120
smart because you know, if she's meeting somebody and she

221
00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:13.679
doesn't show up, that makes him look bad, so he

222
00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:17.039
really had no other choice. But she completely cut ties

223
00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:21.120
with him and the whole family after this incident, which

224
00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:24.519
convinced her that he definitely had a role in her

225
00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:29.360
sister's disappearance. One woman known only in the media as

226
00:14:29.480 --> 00:14:34.519
Josephine interviewed for the podcast called The Next Call in

227
00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:38.039
that she stated that Dennis had come to Sudbury and

228
00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:40.799
arranged for her to babysit for his girlfriend at a

229
00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:43.720
remote hotel, but confessed that it was a lie while

230
00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:47.559
driving there, and then spent the next two hours commenting

231
00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:53.519
on her body while drinking heavily. According to Josephine, Dennis

232
00:14:53.639 --> 00:14:56.679
later spread rumors that they had sex that night, and

233
00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.759
his behavior led her to believe that he was responsible

234
00:14:59.799 --> 00:15:03.799
for assaulting Melanie Ettia, saying that she may have had

235
00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:07.600
a similar interaction with Dennis and violently fought back if

236
00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:12.360
she rejected him. In twenty twelve, Dennis arranged for a

237
00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:16.120
teenage girl to babysit his granddaughter, which she found to

238
00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.279
be a lie. When she arrived at the hotel room,

239
00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:22.679
he again made sexual advances, and the girl later pressed charges.

240
00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:26.759
This eventually made him serve time in prison for the offense.

241
00:15:28.519 --> 00:15:33.120
While in prison, Selne visited him and directly asked about

242
00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:37.480
his involvement in her daughter's case. He denied any involvement,

243
00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:40.799
and sadly, he died of a stroke in twenty sixteen

244
00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:45.639
before any confession could be pulled from him. And while

245
00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:48.960
Dennis seems like a viable theory, there are other theories

246
00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:52.600
about Melanie possibly being mistaken for another girl in town

247
00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:55.720
when she was attacked, or maybe the victim of a

248
00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:59.639
serial killer. Today, Melanie would be forty three years old

249
00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:03.159
and she was last seen wearing a green Nike jacket,

250
00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:07.000
blue jeans, a white T shirt with a pepe logo

251
00:16:07.159 --> 00:16:12.320
and a blue heart, and black boots. Melanie was described

252
00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:15.279
as five five and one hundred and twenty pounds. Roughly,

253
00:16:16.120 --> 00:16:19.360
she's a black female with brown eyes and long braided

254
00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:24.120
black hair. The Ontario Provincial Police say that the case

255
00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:27.279
will never be closed until it is solved, and that

256
00:16:27.320 --> 00:16:29.399
they would like to remind the public that even the

257
00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:34.039
smallest detail could have a significant impact. Any person with

258
00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:37.960
any information regarding the disappearance is asked to contact them

259
00:16:38.200 --> 00:16:41.879
at one eight eight eight three, one zero one one

260
00:16:42.039 --> 00:16:46.720
two two or seven oh five three two nine six

261
00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:52.240
one one one, their nearest police authority or crime stoppers

262
00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:58.360
anonymously reward money climbed from two thousand dollars to fifty

263
00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:01.759
thousand dollars over the years for any information that could

264
00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:06.599
possibly lead to Melanie's recovery. There are two billboards along

265
00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:10.759
Highway eleven that still ask you know what happened to me,

266
00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:15.039
so why don't you help? I truly hope that someone

267
00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:18.400
is able to help one day. While her mother believes

268
00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:21.640
that it is very unlikely that Melanie is still alive today,

269
00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:27.960
she still deserves justice and her family deserves answers. And

270
00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:31.160
I do hope that you enjoyed this week's story. If

271
00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:33.279
you like the show, don't forget to leave me five

272
00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:36.480
stars wherever you are listening now. It really is the

273
00:17:36.519 --> 00:17:39.519
best way to help me reach new audiences, and it

274
00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:43.640
means so so much to me. If you have a case, suggestion,

275
00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:46.359
or something that you would like me to cover, please

276
00:17:46.440 --> 00:17:51.000
email me at Alicia at fireeyesmedia dot com or feel

277
00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.640
free to message me on social media. I will see

278
00:17:54.680 --> 00:17:58.160
you next week for another episode. And in the meantime,

279
00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:03.759
remember are wanted, you are loved, and you deserve to

280
00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:07.759
be here, and I will see you next week. Truly

281
00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:11.720
Twisted is a proud production of Fireeyes Media, a woman

282
00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:16.359
owned and operated network. This show is hosted, researched, and

283
00:18:16.640 --> 00:18:19.799
edited by me, Alicia Watson, and I would love if

284
00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:22.960
you would email me any case, suggestions or comments you

285
00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:36.279
may have at Alicia at fireeysmedia dot com. Fireeyes Media