Police renew appeal for information 12 years after Victoria woman's disappearance

Missing person Emma Fillipoff is seen in this image handed out by the Victoria Police Department.

On the anniversary of her disappearance, police in Victoria renewed their appeal for information in Emma Fillipoff’s 12-year-old missing persons case.

Fillipoff was last seen on Nov. 28, 2012, near the Empress Hotel. Police were called to check in on her as she seemed to be walking around in a distressed state. The Victoria Police Department says officers spoke with her “at length,” before determining she was well enough and Fillipoff moved on.

The woman, who was age 26 at the time, has not been seen or heard from since. Over the more than a decade since her disappearance there have been hundreds of tips from across Canada and beyond, but no confirmed sightings.

The latest appeal for information focuses on a person of interest in the case dubbed the “Green Shirt Guy.” The individual was seen in Vancouver’s Gastown neighbourhood on May 27, 2014, claiming to be Fillipoff’s boyfriend.

On Thursday police shared a new age-progressed image of the man by a forensic artist enlisted by Fillipoff’s family and advocates, in hopes it will generate new leads.

“This investigation needs just one person with the right information to come forward. If you are the person known as ‘Green Shirt Guy,’ if you know who he is, or if you have any other information related to Emma’s case, contact the Victoria Police Department, or report anonymously through Crime Stoppers,” said Const. Bob Illes, a detective with the VicPD in a news release posted to the search effort’s website.

“I believe that re-visiting the story of the green t-shirt man will spark renewed interest in my daughter's case. I have long felt that this man could be a valuable source of information in Emma's disappearance,” said Emma’s mom, Shelley Fillipoff.

Anyone with information about Fillipoff’s whereabouts or the “Green Shirt Guy” is asked to call the VicPD at 250-995-7654.

More information about the case can be found at helpfindemmafillipoff.ca