Sad anniversary: Police still searching for northern teen last seen in 2013

With this week marking 11 years since Sudbury resident Meagan Pilon went missing, Greater Sudbury Police have renewed their appeal for information related to the case.

Since her disappearance, detectives have followed up on numerous leads and have interviewed several witnesses, said a press release issued Sept. 9.

“We believe that someone may have important information that will help investigators and we continue to appeal to the public for any information related to the investigation,” said Sudbury police.

The last confirmed sighting of 15-year-old Meagan was on Sept. 11, 2013. She was last seen in the New Sudbury area and was reported missing by her father, Marc Pilon, after she failed to return home.

In 2020, Greater Sudbury Police enlisted the help of a forensic artist with the Ontario Provincial Police, who provided an age-enhanced composite of what Pilon might look like then.

While it’s unknown what Meagan may look like as a now 26-year-old woman, at the time of her disappearance she was described as standing 5-10 tall and weighing 140 lbs., with dark hair, hazel eyes, and a small scar on her right upper lip.

Meagan’s family, naturally, also continues to search for their missing loved one. Sudbury.com spoke with two of her aunts, Carol Martel and Tammy Martel, at the first Meagan Pilon Memorial Walk held in 2022.

At the time, Carol said what may have happened to her niece and who, if anyone, is responsible is not as important as the closure the family hopes to find when Meagan is found.

“It’s hard, especially during the holidays. It’s not the same without her. I go to bed every night wondering,” she said. 

She said the family doesn’t care about criminality or culpability, “just lead us to where she’s at,” Carol said.

“Help us clear our conscience — our family needs closure,” she said, adding that Meagan’s mother (her sister) passed away when the missing girl was six. “We want her to rest with her mom.”

Volunteer searchers with the grassroots missing persons group Please Bring Me Home and members of the Greater Sudbury Missing Persons Facebook page said using the news media and social media is key to the effort of finding Meagan.

Julie Charette and Natashia PIckering are local members of Please Bring Me Home. They said keeping the case in the public eye keeps Meagan’s name in people’s minds and lets her know (and anyone else paying attention) that people are still looking for her.

Tips are still coming in regarding Meagan, they told Sudbury.com in 2022, but none have borne fruit. Charette and Pickering want anyone with information to know that all tips are anonymous — the information about Meagan’s fate and whereabouts are what’s most important.

They don’t want anyone with information to keep it to themselves out of fear of any repercussions for sharing what they know.

“Don’t be afraid to share all the information,” they said.

Please Bring Me Home and its members have assisted in locating 17 missing people, two of whom were sadly deceased, Charette and Pickering said. One case that didn’t end successfully was the group’s work in helping solve the case of Dale Nancy Wyman, a 22-year-old from Ottawa who vanished in 1980. Wyman was found after 40 years and had recently passed away of natural causes.

“This is an example of the power of social media and how important it is to keep sharing — someone knows something.”

“We remain committed to investigating the circumstances of the disappearance of Meagan Pilon and finding answers for her loved ones and the community,” said GSPS on Sept. 9.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Greater Sudbury Police Service at 705-675-9171 or Crime Stoppers 705-222-8477.

All tips can be submitted to Please Bring Me Home by email to [email protected].