Ontario offers $50K reward for information on missing woman from Fort Frances

It's been more than a year since Melanie Lapish was last seen, and the Ontario government is now offering a $50,000 reward "for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible" for her disappearance.

Lapish was last seen on Feb. 26, 2024, in Fort Frances around 9 p.m. Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said she had been dropped off at the McDonald's on Kings Highway and was supposed to meet someone there for a ride.

The woman was 35 years old when she was reported missing in the northwestern Ontario town on March 9, 2024. She was living in Fort Frances at the time but also has ties to Sault Ste. Marie, where her mother lives.

"To date, Melanie Lapish has not been located and the circumstances of her disappearance are criminally suspicious," the OPP said in a news release issued Monday, when it announced the $50,000 reward.

Lapish is described as five-foot-nine and weighing about 110 pounds. She has blue-green eyes, long, dirty-blond hair and a nose ring, and was last seen wearing a grey sweater, blue jeans and a toque.

"We hope this reward encourages anyone with information about Melanie's disappearance to come forward. Her family misses her deeply and they deserve answers. If you have any information, please step forward," said Acting Det. Staff Sgt. Ryan Gordon of the OPP's criminal investigation branch.

Devoted mother, happy-go-lucky person

Colleen Rogers, Lapish's mother, said she was "floored" when she found out the $50,000 reward had been approved. She explained the OPP had to request the funding from the government, and the process was six months in the making. 

"I just hope this is enough incentive for somebody to come forward," Rogers told CBC News.

She describes her daughter as an outgoing, happy-go-lucky person, and a loving mother to her five-year-old son.

"She loved doing stuff with her son — that was her number one. Everything was for her son," said Rogers. "She had the brightest smile, she was energetic. She was always on the go; she never stopped."

Lapish is always in contact with her family and friends, said Rogers; her disappearance is very unlike her.

"She wouldn't leave her son for a day, so it's pretty hard for her to leave him for a year," Rogers said.

Lapish's sister, Brit Anderson, held a community walk in Fort Frances on Feb. 26 — the one-year anniversary of when Lapish was last seen — to help raise awareness. The family has also conducted searches for her in town.

Any little thing might be the key to solving this.- Colleen Rogers, Melanie Lapish's mother

A Facebook group called MISSING: MELANIE LAPISH had more than 1,500 members at publication time.

The investigation remains ongoing by the Rainy River District OPP under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch. Assistance is also being provided by the OPP North West Region Crime Unit, OPP Forensic Identification Services, OPP North West Region Emergency Response Team and OPP Canine Unit.

Anyone who has had any contact with Lapish or has any information about her whereabouts is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or ontariocrimestoppers.ca.

Rogers's hope is that the reward money, and the OPP's renewed calls for information, will provide answers about what happened to her daughter.

"Any little thing might be the key to solving this," she said.