EARLY LIFE:
Nancy Liou was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on November 3, 1983. According to her loved ones, she was an outgoing, social girl with a tight knit group of friends. She was also known for being strong-willed.
In the fall of 1998, she ran away from home for 18 days, after her father imposed a nightly curfew. Not wanting to remain in her family’s apartment and follow their rules, she stayed with a friend and continued to attend school. She also stayed in contact with her family. Her father was in hospital, recovering from surgery, and she visited him regularly.
At the time of her disappearance, Nancy was a 10th grade student at Monarch Park Collegiate Institute. She was said to be an average student, with no steady boyfriend.
LEAD UP TO DISAPPEARANCE:
Nancy was last seen after she returned home from school on the afternoon of January 27, 1999. At around 3:00pm, surveillance cameras caught her leaving her apartment, located on Dundas Street East, near Parliament Street. The footage shows her standing by the rear door for approximately 10 seconds, before she sees someone in the parking lot and runs out the door with a smile on her face. Unfortunately, there were no cameras outside to capture footage of the car or which direction it went.
While this was happening, her father was napping in the apartment.
DISAPPEARANCE:
Nancy’s father waited up for her all night and into the next day. Wondering if she’d got to school to sit for a scheduled exam, he called the office, but was told teachers didn’t take attendance during the exam period. As such, no one was sure if Nancy had been there.
At the time, Nancy and her father had reconciled their differences and were getting along well. She also wasn’t known to police and wasn’t involved in any illicit activity, meaning there was no valid reason for her to not return home the previous night.
That evening, her father reported her missing to the Toronto Police Service.
SEARCH:
Nancy’s disappearance garnered little media attention in 1999, as the Toronto Police Service had classified her as a runaway. According to some reports, she’d told a family member she was planning on going somewhere the afternoon of January 27, but didn’t say where or with whom. They did say, however, that she didn’t give any indication of wanting to run away from home.
Since she went missing, Nancy has not contacted any of her friends, nor has she visited the Regent Park Community Center, which she was known to frequent.
The case was reopened in June 2019. While tips were called in following a media release, no one has come forward to say they saw her after 3:00pm on the day she went missing. Investigators have also not provided any updates on where the case stands.
CASE CONTACT INFORMATION:
Nancy Liou went missing from Toronto, Ontario on January 27, 1999. She was 15 years old, and was last seen wearing a white waist-length winter jacket, blue jeans and black platform shoes. She has fair complexion and medium build, standing at 5’5″ and weighing between 117 and 121 pounds. At the time of her disappearance, she had long dark brown hair with blonde streaks, and brown eyes. She has a small black birthmark on her left cheek and a scar on the left side of her upper lip.
Currently, the case is classified as endangered missing. If alive, she would be 38 years old.
Those with information regarding the case are asked to contact the Missing Persons Unit of the Toronto Police Service at 416-808-7411. Tips can also be called into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at 1-877-318-3576 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Image Credit: Canada Unsolved
Stories of the Unsolved 