Finding Emma Fillipoff

Emma Fillipoff was originally from Ottawa and was working as a chef in Victoria when she went missing Nov. 28, 2012. She was 27 and was last seen near the Empress Hotel around 7 PM. The lead in the case brings the tragic story to the DTES.

Last May the Courier-Islander reported that Gastown, Vanvouver store owners Joel and Lori Sellen witnessed a man in their store throwing out a “missing” poster. “Upon closer inspection, the poster was of (missing Emma Fillipoff) and the reward of $25,000 posted for her safe recovery,” said Shelly. “The man said ‘It’s one of those missing persons posters, except she’s not missing, she’s my girlfriend and she ran away ‘cause she hates her parents’.” The store owners said they got a ‘very creepy vibe’ from the man and called the police right away to report the incident. Security cameras were able to pick up his image.



Vancouver police are investigating and posters have gone out over social media asking the public to be on the lookout for Emma or the male around the downtown eastside. CBC the Fifth Estate just ran a documentary on her. At 28:45 into the video you can see the surveillance footage of the guy walk into a Gastown shop holding a copy of Emma's poster in his hand.



CBC also reported that when she was last seen on November 28th 2012 she was last seen by the police. "At 7:11 p.m. on November 28, 2012 a 911 call goes out to the police by a concerned passerby. A 26 year old woman is standing barefoot on the street in temperatures hovering just above zero degree. Her name is Emma Fillipoff, a chef originally from the Ottawa area. The police arrive and talk to the petite, attractive woman for 30 minutes to make sure she is fine. Then they leave her at the side of the road and drive off. She is never seen again.

So now we have three red flags. She was last seen standing barefoot downtown Victoria in the freezing cold, a guy claiming to be her boyfriend claimed she was alive and well and she is in the DTES. Three red flags. There is no happiness in the DTES. That is the epicenter of exploitation.

I have more to say on this case but let's start there. Lets look for her and the guy claiming to be her boyfriend in the DTES. Best case scenario is that she did run away from her family and that exposing her whereabouts will cause her to leave the DTES. Even if that was true, her leaving the DTES would be in her best interest. However, I do not believe that is true. Let's find her to make sure she is safe. Gastown is nice but the DTES is not a safe place for anyone.