A police search earlier this week of a property in the Apsley area has found no evidence in connection to the cold case of Francis Harris, a 45-year-old mother of three who disappeared without a trace 51 years ago from her home on Highway 28 just south of Apsley.
On Tuesday (November 7), members of the Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Crime Unit, UCRT (Urban Search and Rescue Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) Response Team, and Canine Unit conducted a search inside and around a barn on a property originally owned by the family.
Police conducted the search based on information received from the public. On Friday (November 10), the OPP reported no evidence was found during that search that would assist in moving the investigation forward.
The same property had already been searched in 2012, after police received a tip that prompted them to spend three days examining the vacant land that was once the site of the family home (it had burned down in 1990 and is now where the Apsley Veterinary Services is located). Ground-penetrating radar and heavy machinery found nothing.
Francis Harris was last seen on Friday, April 21, 1972. That morning, she had travelled with her 42-year-old husband Stan for one of his regular physiotherapy appointments at 9:30 a.m. in Peterborough. After leaving the appointment, the couple stopped in Lakefield on the way back to Apsley, where Stan went to the bank and Francis went to the post office.
A witness reported seeing the couple together in the family car on Highway 28 later that morning. Stan said the couple ate lunch together before he left for his job at the Department of Highways (now the Ministry of Transportation) by 1 p.m., although witnesses claimed seeing his car (along with another car) at the family’s home during that afternoon — a report Stan denied.
VIDEO: The Mystery of Francis Harris – Missing Since 1972 (1977 “Code 10-78” episode)
Francis was never seen again. Stan — who reported her missing three days later — claimed she had abandoned the family, although many of her possessions (including her purse) remained in the family home. Subsequently, there were many rumours about the couple, including infidelity in the marriage. Stan, who had always maintained he was not involved in her disappearance, passed away in June 2021 at the age of 92.
On April 21, 2020, the OPP issued a media release stating they were continuing their investigation into Francis’s disappearance and included a forensic artist sketch of what she may have looked like in 1992 at the age of 65 if she were still alive. Today, she would be 95 years old if she were still alive.
The disappearance of Francis Harris continues to be an open investigation under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch.
Anyone with information about this case can contact the Peterborough County OPP at 705-742-0401 or 1-888-310-1122 (case #20090023). Anonymous tips can be made to Peterborough Northumberland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at stopcrimehere.ca.
