OPP launches renewed campaign to find Sonya Cywink's killer
Police are teaming up with the victim’s family to provide new social media appeals
Nearly 25 years have passed since Sonya Nadine Cywink's body was found in Elgin County, and Provincial Police are stepping up efforts to find her killer.
Elgin County OPP announced Monday that they are launching an "enhanced awareness campaign" in hopes of generating new leads in the cold case.
Cywink's body was found at the Southwold Earthworks, a historical site that was a former First Nation settlement located on Iona Road in the Township of Southwold.
She was last seen alive in London near Dundas and Lyle streets at around 2 a.m. on Aug. 25, 1994. Her body was found six days later with signs of trauma.
She was from the Whitefish River First Nation, near Manitoulin Island, but she had a London address at the time of her death.
Const. Adam Crewdson said the Cywink family has reached out to the OPP and asked the force to partner with them.
"So on our social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook, we're going to have little vignettes about Sonya's life."
The campaign will end with a video outlining what the OPP know about the case so far. And the Cywink family will join the OPP at a news conference towards the end of this month.
Two new billboards have already gone up in East London, featuring a picture of Sonya beneath a heading that reads: "Find my killer", and a number to call for submitting tips.
Crewdson says the campaign is aimed at people who knew Sonya best.
"What we do need is people that knew Sonya, people that were her friends, people that were her acquaintances, to come forward and get the real story as to what happened here."
Since it's been 25 years since Sonya died, police believe people who know something about her death have moved on in life, and Crewdson says that's what the family would like to do, as well. But, he added, they first need to have closure.
There are two rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Sonya's killer or killers. The OPP are offering a $50,000 reward and the Cywink family is offering its own $10,000 reward.
Tips can be submitted anonymously online at londoncrimestoppers.com or via telephone: 1-800-222-8477.