By Joel van der Veen
KENASTON — Despite the efforts of friends, family and police, there remained no word late last week on the whereabouts of Kenaston resident Sheree Fertuck.
The 51-year-old mother of three was last seen leaving the family farmyard east of Kenaston near Highway 15 on Dec. 7, around 1:30 p.m.
A semi truck used by Fertuck to haul gravel was located around 8 a.m. the following day at a gravel pit further east off of Highway 15.
Police announced Friday afternoon that, following several days of investigation, they were treating Fertuck’s disappearance as suspicious.
Her mother, Juliann Sorotski, said she had become concerned about her daughter and had found the truck on Tuesday morning, prior to filing a missing persons report with the police. She later told CBC that the keys and Fertuck’s phone were still inside the truck when she found it.
“I was just hoping that I would find her, or find some kind of clue of where she might have been,” Sorotski told the Leader.
She also contacted friends and family, asking if they’d heard from Fertuck or seen any trace of her since Monday night.
John M. McJannet, a long-time neighbour and friend of the Sorotskis, said a group of seven went back to the gravel pit to see if they could find any evidence there.
“We drove down and had a quick look around,” he said, adding that police arrived later and asked the searchers to leave so the area could be contained. “The RCMP showed up and that was pretty much the end of that.”
Members of the Saskatoon RCMP detachment conducted a ground search of the area on Tuesday evening with assistance from the detachment’s police dog service.
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Also lending a hand with the investigation were members from the RCMP Major Crime Unit South, the Saskatoon RCMP General Investigation Section and the RCMP Historical Case Unit North.
“At this point, investigators cannot say if Sheree’s disappearance is suspicious,” read the release issued Wednesday. “It is certainly out of character for her to be out of contact with her family.”
In a statement issued Friday, police declared that the case was being treated as suspicious, given that their investigation had so far revealed that “Sheree was a person of habit and predictable behaviours.”
Flyers were posted in and around Kenaston. Additional units joined the investigation over the course of the week, and police issued a request to local residents to check their property, outbuildings and surrounding areas for any signs of unusual activity, including shoe or vehicle tracks.
Police specifically requested any information on sightings of Fertuck, her truck or suspicious activity in the area between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning.
Anyone who was travelling in the area or near the GPS co-ordinates North 51 degrees 2951.3, West 105 degrees 5505.5, and who may have taken video or photo images during that timeframe, is asked to contact police immediately.
Given the circumstances, Sorotski said she suspects strongly that Fertuck was abducted, adding, “I’m just hoping she can be found by somebody.”
Fertuck is the daughter of Juliann and the late Michael Sorotski. She is the mother of three children: Lucas, 22; Lauren, 19; and Lanna, 17.
She was living and working from the farm at the time of her disappearance. She and her husband Greg have been separated for around five years, her mother said last week.
Fertuck is described as around 5’4” in height and weighing 250 lbs., with greying brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing grey sweatpants, a grey sweater and white running shoes.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the Saskatoon RCMP detachment at 306-975-5145 or Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).