Tim Bosma has not been seen since Monday, when he left his home with two men who wanted to test drive a truck he was offering for sale.
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Police say they have recovered a cellphone belonging to a Hamilton man who was last seen Monday when he took two men for a test drive of a pickup truck he was trying to sell online.
They have also released descriptions of the two men believed to have met with Timothy Bosma, 32. Homicide investigators have taken over the case because of the “unusual nature” of the disappearance.
“We always have to hold out hope,” Det.-Sgt. Matt Kavanagh told a news conference Friday when asked whether Bosma was still believed to be alive.
Police said the two men last seen with Bosma are believed to have contacted an Etobicoke man about selling the same model pickup truck online. The two suspects arrived at a business on foot to test drive the car on Sunday, Kavanagh said.
On Thursday afternoon, police found Bosma’s cellphone in an industrial complex in west Brantford – the direction he was last believed to have been heading with the two men.
No other items were recovered, but police said they were able to track the cellphone they believed the suspects used to contact Bosma.
That is how investigators were able to speak with the man in Etobicoke, who told police he thought it was suspicious that the men who arrived at his business to look at his truck were on foot. He was returned to his business after the test drive.
Police said they’ve also received information that Bosma’s vehicle was seen travelling in the downtown area of south Brantford at 10:10 p.m. on Monday.
Investigators are asking any business owners with surveillance cameras in the area to review footage for that day between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
Police are not sure what route the vehicle may have travelled through Brantford.
Bosma’s own cellphone was turned off shortly after his disappearance and the phone believed to be used by the two men was only active for three months – its signal bouncing off cell towers in Etobicoke – before it was also disconnected, Kavanagh said.
As police were making these discoveries on Thursday, Bosma’s wife, Sharlene, pleaded with the men she believes kidnapped her husband to return him safely.
“It is just a truck. You don’t need him, but I do and our daughter needs her daddy. So please, please let him come home,” she tearfully told a news conference.
Friends and family had taken to social media, posting pictures of Bosma and pleas for help in finding him.
Hamilton police have dedicated 150 officers to a ground and air search for Bosma, utilizing K-9 units and reassigning officers to the homicide unit, Supt. Dan Kinsella told media.
“We will continue to commit any and all resources,” he said.
Police have confirmed a description of one of the suspects. He is described as a white male in his mid-20s, 6-foot-1 to 6-foot-2, 170 to 180 pounds. He has light to medium, short brown hair, is unshaved and was wearing an orange shirt and running shoes.
Also described, was a unique tattoo on one of the man’s wrists where a watch would normally be: A box framing the word “Ambition.”
The second man also in his mid-20s is described as white, 5-foot-9 to 5-foot-10, small to medium build, dark hair, wearing a red-hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head.
Bosma’s Dodge Ram, which has not been recovered, is described as black with an Ontario licence plate number 726 7ZW.