Family fears missing N.S. woman was abducted, RCMP say disappearance is suspicious

RCMP in Nova Scotia say they now consider the disappearance of an Annapolis Valley woman as suspicious and its major crime unit has taken the lead on the investigation.

Esther Jones, 55, was last seen Aug. 31 in Kingston, N.S., and her car was discovered abandoned in nearby Greenwood on Sept. 4, said police in a news release.

The woman's sister, Margery Parker, said family reported Jones missing on Labour Day after she failed to show up for church the day before, which was unlike her.

RCMP said they opened a missing person's investigation on Sept. 2, and "through the course of the investigation, officers have deemed [Jones's] disappearance suspicious."

Police declined to provide more details about their investigation to CBC News, but Parker said in an interview she fears her sister was abducted.

Parker said there had been some upheaval in her sister's life because she'd been the primary caregiver for their mother, who died in August. But Parker said Jones gave no indication anything was wrong.

"She called or texted her beauty salon to book an appointment to have her hair done," Parker said in a brief phone interview. "So it's not as though she was planning her own demise or anything like that. Life was going on as normal."

Residents asked not to conduct own search

She said the community has rallied around the family, but police have asked civilians to hold off on conducting their own search.

"There was a lot of concern of the public wanting to do ground search and MCU [major crime unit] asked us to hold them off because they thought ... they could hamper the investigation by trampling leads and scent, DNA or whatever in places of interest," she said.

Although police have said Jones was last seen in Kingston, Parker said her sister made a stop on Aug. 31 at the fitness club at 14 Wing Greenwood.

Parker said her sister is five foot one with shoulder-length brown hair. Police say Jones has a slim build and hazel eyes, and was possibly wearing a black T-shirt with ties at the shoulders, a black and floral skirt, and sunglasses with mirrored lenses when seen last.

Anyone with any information on Jones's disappearance is asked to contact the Southwest Nova Major Crime Unit or Crimestoppers.