Yarmouth County man’s disappearance still a mystery five years later

Zachery Lefave is pictured in a photo supplied by the RCMP. (Courtesy: Nova Scotia RCMP)

The Nova Scotia RCMP is still trying to solve the disappearance of Zachery Lefave, five years after he was reported missing in Yarmouth County on New Year’s Day.

The 21-year-old man had attended a New Year’s Eve gathering with friends on Dec. 31, 2020. He was last seen walking along Highway 334 in Plymouth, N.S., around 12:15 a.m., on Jan. 1, 2021.

Police launched a missing person investigation later that day.

Numerous searches have taken place over the years, with the Southwest Nova Major Crime Unit leading the investigation. Regional ground search and rescue teams, RCMP Police Dog Services, an RCMP cadaver dog team from British Columbia, and other RCMP units from across Nova Scotia have also been involved in the searches and investigation.

“Our investigators have spoken with over two hundred people during the course of this investigation,” said Const. Shawn Himmelman, lead investigator with the RCMP’s Southwest Nova Major Crime Unit, in a news release Wednesday.

“The information and details provided have shaped where and how searches have taken place, and will support any new search efforts going forward.”

Police are still asking to speak with anyone who was driving or walking on or near Highway 334 between Arcadia and Wedgeport between the hours of 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2020, and 3 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2021.

Lefave would be 26 years old today. He was five-foot-nine and 175 pounds, with brown facial hair, brown hair and blue eyes, at the time of his disappearance. He was last seen wearing a hat, plaid shirt and shorts.

A reward of up to $150,000 is available for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in Lefave’s case, which is included in the Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program.

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