OPP hope new community billboard, $50K reward will spur leads in Muskoka homicide

A $50,000 reward is now being offered by the Government of Ontario for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for Tyler Penasse's death. A new billboard featuring the reward has been installed along Highway 17 eastbound between Cache Bay and Verner. (OPP)

Ontario Provincial Police are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the homicide of a 25-year-old man found dead near Muskoka last year.

On Friday, investigators announced they are renewing their appeal for information in the death of Tyler Penasse, known as Tyler Pellerin-Penasse, of West Nipissing.

Officers say Penasse was found dead near Hardy Lake Road on Sept. 15, 2025. Bracebridge OPP officers were called to the remote area around noon after receiving a report that a dead body had been discovered.

Police later ruled Penasse’s death a homicide.

• Dead body in Muskoka, Ont. identified, death ruled homicide

The Government of Ontario is now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. When the investigation was first announced in September 2025, Crime Stoppers offered a reward of up to $2,000.

As part of the renewed appeal, a community billboard has been installed along Highway 17 eastbound between Cache Bay and Verner.

“Someone knows what happened to Tyler Penasse,” OPP Det. Insp. Joe DeCook said in a Friday release. “We hope this billboard and reward will prompt those with information to come forward and help provide his family with the answers they deserve. Those responsible must be held accountable.”

Police are interested in hearing from anyone who was in the Hardy Lake Road, Torrance, Bala, Wahta or Gravenhurst areas between Sunday, Sept. 14 and Monday, Sept. 15, 2025.

OPP have also created a dedicated tip line at 1-833-941-5865, which connects callers directly with the investigative team.

The investigation is being led by the Bracebridge OPP Crime Unit under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch, with help from several other OPP units, the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service.

At the request of Penasse’s family, police are not releasing a photograph of him.