O'Rielly tips flood into RCMP
Moncton woman disappeared Feb. 26
Last Updated: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 | 6:16 PM AT
CBC News
Donna O'Rielly, 54, was last seen leaving Highfield Square Mall on Feb. 26 at about 8 p.m. (Photo submitted)The Codiac Regional RCMP have been following up on more than 600 tips that have flooded in over the last 19 days since Donna O'Rielly disappeared from a downtown Moncton mall.
While the RCMP say the tips haven't dried up, there has been no break in the case of the missing 54-year-old Moncton woman.
The family has offered a $25,000 reward and has plastered the city with missing person posters.
Codiac RCMP Const. Chantal Farrah said the police are still searching for clues that could solve O'Rielly's disappearance.
"An investigation is like a big puzzle. So you need all the small pieces of the puzzle to put together in order to resolve the investigation," Farrah said.
"And we strongly believe that there is at least one person out there who knows where Donna O'Rielly is and that's the bit of information that we need."
O'Rielly was last seen leaving her job at H&R Block at Highfield Square on Feb. 26 at about 8 p.m.
Her family believes she may have been abducted.
Like many people in Moncton, O'Rielly's daughters are speculating on what led to their mother's disappearance.
"We have talked and talked and talked about every possible scenario out there and I'm sure at one point we must have covered what exactly happened because we've tried to cover every angle," said Amy Popowych.
"But not one makes sense. Not one."
The family feels like there's nothing more they can do except come to terms with the possibility that they may have lost their mother.
"That's the sad thing is that whoever has done this has taken away all the happier times in our lives, like Christmas," said Karen Streek.
"Christmas was the most special time for our family but mostly because of our mom. And now I won't even want to do Christmas anymore. She loved Christmas so much."
O'Rielly grew up in Isle aux Morts, in southwestern Newfoundland and Labrador. She and her husband Harold raised their family in Gander, N.L., and they moved to Moncton in 2004.
O'Rielly is five feet three inches tall and 130 pounds, with green eyes and shoulder-length brown hair.
She was last seen wearing a brown medium-length, suede-like jacket and jeans. She was also carrying a brown purse and a lunch bag.
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