Landfill search extended for missing Ontario woman: police | Globalnews.ca (2025)

Police in Hamilton say they have extended a search in an Ontario landfill for a missing woman they believe was disposed of through the garbage system.

Since Feb. 24, police have been looking through the Glanbrook Landfill site in Caledonia, Ont., near Hamilton for any signs of 40-year-old Shalini Singh.

That search was supposed to end on April 18 but has been extended by two more weeks, Hamilton police said in an update on Friday.

Singh was last seen by family and friends at around 7:10 p.m. on Dec. 4, 2024. She was reported missing by her concerned family about a week later on Dec. 10, police previously said.

“The information initially gathered caused growing concerns about Shalini’s safety and the investigation was assigned to the Homicide Unit,” police said on Friday.

Investigators said that at the time of her disappearance, Singh was living with her common-law boyfriend at a downtown Hamilton apartment building.

Singh’s boyfriend was also reported missing at the same time but was found on Dec. 11 after going to a family member’s home outside of Hamilton in Halton Region, police said.

Investigators said in February that Singh’s boyfriend has “not cooperated with the investigation” into her disappearance and has “provided no information that could assist in locating Shalini.” He was also known to police for previous incidents before Singh disappeared, police said.

“Despite searching the building several times, police have not located any evidence relating to her disappearance,” investigators said.

This included hundreds of hours of surveillance video from the building, with up to 40 cameras, to trace Singh and her boyfriend’s movements in the days around her disappearance, police said.

They noted that there is no CCTV footage showing Singh leaving her building after Dec. 4. She was last seen entering the apartment on Dec. 2.

Police believe she may have been killed, disposed of through garbage system

“Evidence suggests that she may have been met with foul play inside of her apartment and later removed from the building through the garbage disposal system,” Hamilton police acting Det. Sgt. Daryl Reid said in a video update on Friday.

The majority of the waste collected from the apartment building had already been moved to Glanbrook Landfill, police said.

Reid said the search is very large and that it is the first time Hamilton police have undertaken a task such as this.

“We remain committed to finding Shalini and providing answers to her family and loved ones,” Reid said.