$50K reward offered for info on disappearance of Manitoulin woman

A $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for the disappearance of Juanita Migwans.

The Ontario Government is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the disappearance of Juanita Migwans as United Chiefs and Councils of Manitoulin Police Service Commission (UCCM Police) Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) continue their search efforts.

“Migwans is currently the subject of a missing person investigation where foul play cannot be ruled out,” OPP said in a news release Thursday.

The 31-year-old was last seen on Oct. 4, 2024, walking along Riverside Drive in the First Nations community of M’Chigeeng on Manitoulin Island.

No one has seen or heard from Migwans – or ‘Winnie,’ as her family calls her – since that sighting.

Migwans is described as an Indigenous female with a slim build, 5′6″ (168 cm) tall, about 110 pounds (50 kgs), with brown hair and brown eyes.

UCCM Police and the OPP have conducted extensive ground and aerial searches.

“(We) have conducted ground searches. We have used aviation services, so that includes a helicopter, that includes drones,” said OPP Det. Insp. Raymond St. Pierre, in a previous interview with CTV News.

St. Pierre added that Migwans didn’t have anything with her when she disappeared.

“What’s important to note is she didn’t have a telephone with her,” he said.

“She didn’t have a form of ID, bank card or credit cards or anything like that.”

Both police services said they are continuing to work together and the investigation is still ongoing.

St. Pierre said he wants the community to know that they’re not giving up and continue to search for Migwans.

Investigators are asking anyone with information regarding her whereabouts, those responsible for her disappearance or what happened to her to contact OPP at 1-888-310-1120, their nearest police authority or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

The OPP file number for the case is RM24251640.

A dedicated tipline has been established for Migwans’s disappearance at 1-833-941-9010.

“We’re looking for assistance and the police can’t do it on their own,” said St. Pierre.

With files from CTVNorthernOntario.ca journalist Lyndsay Aelick