Greater Sudbury Police Service (GSPS) said today every possible course of action is being taken in the bid to find missing Sudbury Coun. Michael Vagnini.
Det. Staff Sgt. Barry Ornella of the GSPS Major Crimes Unit spoke to reporters at an information session held at the GSPS headquarters Thursday morning to advise the media and the community of the importance of keeping an eye out for Vagnini's missing pickup truck, a black 2021 Ram 1500 with a broken taillight.
He added that police would welcome any tidbit of information people might have that would help them find Vagnini.
Ornella said police were able to confirm that Vagnini was last seen in the late afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 27 around 5:40 p.m. Police said a home video surveillance camera captured Vagnini’s truck travelling westbound that day on McCharles Lake Road in Walden. Ornella said police are confident the video shows Vagnini’s vehicle.
A surveillance video showing a truck similar to the councillor’s that was caught on surveillance camera travelling eastbound toward Lively shortly after 5:40 p.m. on Jan. 27 has been ruled out. Ornella said police are confident that video isn’t of Vagnini’s vehicle.
He said despite the thoroughness of the initial search there, police are still combing the area.
"You know, we follow down every lead until we can prove it either valuable or invaluable. So we continue those efforts. We reach a challenge of where we've exhausted the search around the point last seen, you know, there comes a point where we've done all those efforts. I can tell you that today we continue to apply the search in the areas around McCharles Lake Road and other areas. There's many lakes, bodies of water, and remote wooded areas in that vicinity. So we have not yet stopped our ground search efforts," said Ornella.
He said this has involved searchers on ATVs, on foot, canvassing door-to-door and even aerial searching with a drone.
GSPS is also hoping the Ontario Provincial Police can join the search with the help of a helicopter.
"The weather has not been co-operative in terms of their ability to attend Sudbury for that purpose. However, this weekend, if the weather forecast holds true, we should be looking at more favourable weather and we are hopeful that the OPP at that time can then attend Sudbury and we can do a more comprehensive aerial search of the point last seen and other surrounding areas," he said.
Police also spoke to the fact that Vagnini is not believed to have his medications with him. An early police update said Vagnini "may appear confused or disoriented" as a result.
Ornella was asked if this could have caused Vagnini to suffer some sort of a medical episode. Ornella said there is a concern Vagnini's health could decline.
"These are things we certainly cannot rule out at this point and things that we are considering. We are aware that he had relatively poor health at the time of his disappearance. And, you know, we have concerns that if he does not have medication with him, what that might be in terms of a timeline, you know, in terms of how rapidly his health may decline," said Ornella.
Ornella was also asked what the confusion and disorientation issue raised by police might mean in terms of the city councillor’s overall health.
"I can't get into specifics for his privacy in terms of what his medical condition may or may not be. We do know from speaking with those that had interactions with him that there was some level of concern of ... how he presented, in terms of his health and well-being. And again, these are things that we have to consider that if his health declines for whatever reason, we need to be responsive to that."
Ornella also encouraged city residents to call in on the dedicated tip line (705)-675-9171 Ext. 2320 with any information that might be helpful. He said this would include anyone who actually spoke with Vagnini recently.
"You know, we continue to encourage the public, especially those who have had any contact or interaction with Mr. Vagnini in the days leading up to his disappearance, to please share that information. We're really interested in what was the nature of those conversations, what might seem very inconsequential or trivial may in fact be very helpful for us to determine what caused or led up to his disappearance. “
Ornella said there is no solid information that Vagnini drove out of the Greater Sudbury area, but he said police are leaving nothing to chance. He said the OPP, other police services and agencies in other communities have all been informed. He said Vagnini's licence plate information has also been fed into automatic licence plate reader machines.
Ornella said police are hoping some fresh information will come through to help them resolve the case.
"We remain hopeful. We are days into our investigation in our search. We still remain hopeful and we are treating this as a search and rescue. We hope that this has a positive ending for Mr. Vagnini's family as well as the community," he said.
