RCMP cordon off a crime scene using police tapeJOHN LEHMANN
Hamilton police probing the mysterious disappearance of a church-going father who vanished Monday night after two men showed up at his Hamilton-area home inquiring about a pickup truck he had for sale believe the truck may hold the key to what happened.
During the three days since 32-year-old Tim Bosma went missing, detectives have put his life and lifestyle under a microscope and drawn a blank, unearthing nothing suspicious and no clues as to where he might be.
The couple and their three-year-old daughter live in a large, comfortable house in rural Ancaster, an affluent community just west of Hamilton, and belong to the Ancaster Christian Reformed Church.
"It's a strange one," said Staff-Sgt. Matt Kavanagh of the Hamilton Police Service's homicide unit, which is now handling the investigation.
"We've done a lot of background on both Mr. Bosma and Mrs. Bosma and there's nothing out there to indicate anything other than what appears on the surface – it's the first question we ask. This is a good family, very well supported by their church and community, nice people."
Mr. Bosma had posted a For Sale ad for his truck on Kijiji and Auto Trader.
He wanted $24,000 for the 2007 black Dodge Ram 3500 pickup – slightly lower than the median price for similar vehicles of that year and make – and on Monday evening two men who said they were from Toronto appeared on his doorstep asking about it.
Mr. Bosma told his wife, Sharlene, he was taking the pair for a quick demo drive and would be back shortly.
The trio left together, at around 9:30 p.m. and none has been seen since.
Right now the two visitors are viewed as "persons of interest," police said. Glimpsed by Sharlene Bosma, both are white males in their early to mid-20s.
The first is about 6-foot-1, 170 to 180 pounds, unshaven with short brown hair, wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved orange shirt and running shoes.
The second is around 5-foot-9 with a medium build and dark hair, wearing a red, hooded sweatshirt.
Mr. Bosma was wearing dark blue jeans, work boots and a long-sleeved shirt. He had his cellphone with him when he drove away but it has since been disconnected.
Who the two men are, and what they might have done with Mr. Bosma, remains speculation.
"But we believe they were targeting that specific make and model [of truck] , so we are in the process of going back to Kijiji and Auto Trader and trying to find other complainants," Staff-Sgt. Kavanagh said.
The Dodge truck – licence plate number 726-7ZW – has been flagged to the Canada Border Services Agency and to other police forces. Meanwhile, dozens of friends and relatives are helping scour the area, hand out flyers and provide search updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Staff-Sgt. Kavanagh is optimistic the wave of publicity will aid the hunt for the two men.
"I think it's putting a lot of pressure on these people," he said.
The smart thing for the pair to do, he said, would be to retain lawyers and get in touch with police. "The most important thing is the return of Mr. Bosma."