Police seek new clues in 1985 disappearance of Nicole Morin

Canada AM: Social media blitz may solve cold case Former TPS investigator Mark Mendelson explains how social media and science has changed the way cold cases are investigated.

Nearly 30 years after an 8-year-old girl disappeared without a trace, police released a re-enactment video to keep her cold case alive.

Nicole Morin was last seen on July 30, 1985. Her mother saw her leave her penthouse Etobicoke apartment to go swimming with a friend, but police believe she may not have made it to the building's lobby.

Morin was wearing a coral bathing suit when she left the apartment at 627 The West Mall in the Rathburn Road and Highway 427 area at approximately 11 a.m. that day.

At the time of her disappearance, she was described as 4-foot-2 with brown hair and brown eyes. Her ears were pierced, and she had a small birthmark on the upper right side of her forehead. She weighed approximately 60 pounds.

The minute-long video released by Toronto police and Crime Stoppers shows a girl carrying a plastic bag and a hooded sweatshirt running down a hallway toward an elevator. The girl boards the elevator and rides to the ground floor. She then exits in the lobby, a detail about which police have received conflicting reports. They are unsure whether Morin actually made it to the lobby that day.

The girl in the video looks around, then the image fades into a photo of Morin. The video was shot in the building where Morin went missing.

When Morin disappeared, police launched the most extensive search for a missing person in Toronto Police Service history.

More than 900 community members joined police in a search that took 15,000 man-hours, but she was never found. There were several persons of interest at the time of the disappearance, but police said they've all been cleared.

Toronto Crime Stoppers coordinator Chris Scherk said he hopes that releasing the video will remind witnesses of details they may have forgotten.

"Also, criminals talk. They brag, and they confess," Scherk said at a news conference on Wednesday morning. Scherk said that he believes someone knows what happened to Morin, but hasn't come forward.

Toronto police said they are still hopeful that someone will provide details that could solve the case.

They're using social media campaigns to reach a broader audience, Det. Sgt. Madelaine Tretter said.

Tretter said police have received leads since 1985, including at least one earlier this year, and some have led police to believe Morin may still be alive.

"We've never lost hope that we can find Nicole," she said.

If Morin is still alive, she's now 37 years old.

Anyone with details is asked to call Toronto police at 416-808-2200, or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).