Seventeen-year-old Cindy Halliday was the youngest of four daughters born to Jackie Hinds, living in the tight-knit community of Waverley, just outside Elmvale in southern Ontario, Canada. Described by those who knew her as spirited and adventurous, Cindy often hitchhiked between nearby towns like Waverley, Elmvale, Midland, and Barrie—a common practice at the time in rural areas with limited public transportation.
The events leading to Cindy’s disappearance unfolded on April 20th, 1992, which was Easter Monday that year. Around five thirty p.m., Cindy left Barrie after spending time with a friend at a local halfway house. She began hitchhiking north along Highway 27 toward Waverley, a journey of approximately twenty two miles. Witnesses reported seeing her accept a ride in a pickup truck in front of Paul Sadlon Motors on Bayfield Street in Barrie. The driver dropped her off at the traffic lights at Highway 26/27 and Doran Road in Midhurst, where she continued hitchhiking northward.
Her last confirmed sighting occurred between five thirty and six thirty p.m. in front of a strip plaza on Highway 27 at Findlay Mill Road in Midhurst, possibly near a Hasty Market. There, she was seen entering a light-colored Chrysler LeBaron or Dodge Diplomat. Cindy never arrived home, and the following day, April 21st, her concerned mother reported her missing to authorities.
The search for Cindy intensified in the weeks following her disappearance. On May 3rd, 1992, her wallet was discovered in a wooded area off the Old Second Line (also known as Concession Road 2) in Vespra Township, near Horseshoe Valley Road. An Ontario Provincial Police (OPP)search with tracking dogs yielded no further clues at the time. Then, on May 16th, her distinctive red, white, and blue jacket was found farther north along the same road, raising suspicions that it may have been placed there after the initial search.
The breakthrough came on June 16th, 1992, when a man walking his dog stumbled upon a human skull in a reforestation area on the north side of Horseshoe Valley Road in Flos Township, near Elmvale, a little over a mile northwest of where the jacket was located. Forensic analysis confirmed it belonged to Cindy. Five days later, on June 21st, additional items including more clothing, a watch, ring, and shoes were recovered near the jacket’s location. By October 1992, forensic tests definitively established that Cindy had been stabbed to death, likely in April or May of that year.
The OPP’s investigation into Cindy’s murder has spanned decades, involving hundreds of interviews and thousands of hours of work. Speculation arose about a possible connection to notorious serial killers Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, given the timing; Kristen French was abducted just four days before Cindy vanished. However, investigators eventually ruled out any link.
In September 1992, an OPP behavioral profiler reviewed the case, but specific insights from that analysis have not been publicly detailed. The case has been periodically re-examined, with evidence re-tested using advancing DNA technology in 2006 and a dedicated investigator assigned in 2016. To encourage tips, the OPP offered a $50,000 reward in 2006 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
As of the 30th anniversary in 2022, the OPP confirmed the case remains active, with detectives still pursuing leads and leveraging new forensic advancements. No arrests have been made, and the killer’s identity continues to elude authorities. And as of 2025, there have been no significant developments in the investigation into Cindy Halliday’s murder.
Crime Immemorial 