Winnipeg police investigators searching North End home over man’s 2021 disappearance

Posted on July 24, 2024 by Peggy

A 28-year-old man’s disappearance in Winnipeg nearly three years ago has led police to start searching a North End home, and they want the public to know that investigators might be stationed there for a while.

Cody Harper was last seen in the city’s Elmhood neighbourhood on Oct. 13, 2021, according to police. He was reported missing the following month.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Claude Chancy says information obtained by investigators has led them to execute a search warrant for a home on Selkirk Avenue, between Main and King streets.

He could not predict exactly how long investigators will be stationed outside the home, but said a police presence may be there for the “foreseeable future,” and there is no threat to public safety.

“We all have concerns when we see a multitude of [police] vehicles in our neighbourhoods,” Chancy said at a Wednesday news conference outside the home.

“We want to reassure the public that this is a long-term investigation … and they are not in danger.”

Chancy would not say what new information led to the search, but called it “a significant update to an ongoing investigation.”

Harper’s family is aware of the development, and Chancy said he believes it’s one of the first search warrants being used in connection to Harper’s disappearance.

Investigators from Winnipeg police’s missing persons and forensic services units are searching the home alongside RCMP, he said.

A police officer stands in front of microphones outside, with a forensics truck behind him. — Winnipeg Police Service Const. Claude Chancy believes it’s one of the first search warrants being used in connection to Harper’s disappearance. (Gary Solilak/CBC)

Harper is described as six feet tall and 220 pounds with a medium build and long black hair. He was last seen wearing a black pants, black and white runners, a black zip-up sweater and a black T-shirt.

Police first put out a call for help finding Harper in December 2021.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to contact the missing persons unit at 204-986-6250.