Canadian woman feared missing in China
Last Updated: Monday, December 22, 2008 | 11:52 AM ET
CBC News
There's growing concern for the safety of a Toronto woman who is missing in China.
Ani Ashekian has been travelling for pleasure in China, with plans to go onto India, but her relatives in Windsor, Ont., say they have had no contact with the 30-year-old paralegal in almost six weeks.
Her family says Ashekian loves to travel. Her sister, Rosie Kampstra, says she returned from one trip and within a week had booked to set off again.
Ashekian flew to China on Oct. 24.
She was in touch with her family, but the contact ended after a text message from Hong Kong on Nov. 10.
Kampstra said the lack of contact is highly unusual.
"It's been too long. It's been six weeks — she would never do that," said Kampstra.
Her sister said Ashekian's last text message was to wish her two-year-old niece Sophia a happy birthday.
"And it's been my other daughter's birthday and that's what alarmed us the most, because Gracie's birthday was Dec. 1. We said, 'OK, if she doesn't call for Grace's birthday we know, we know something's wrong because even if she wanted to shut out her family, she would never shut out her nieces. Never."
Ashekian also did not get on her flight from Beijing to India on Dec. 15.
Kampstra said her sister used a credit card while travelling, but there has been no activity since the day the family received the last text message.
Windsor police have reported the case to Interpol and Kampstra had her first conversation with an investigator in Hong Kong on Monday morning.
"[The investigator has] taken down all of Ani's information, all of her credit cards, cellphone," said Kampstra. "She says she's going to try everything she can to try to find her. They've contacted all of the hospitals. They've checked police records to see if her name has come up. Nothing has come up on that end ... she says they're going to the media with it."
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