Family hunts for missing woman
Darlene Powell has not been seen or heard from since early 2017. (Photo courtesy of DRPS).
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
The Durham Region Police and the family of Darlene Powell are looking to the public to help make contact with the 50-year-old who has been missing since February.
According to Valerie Foster, Powell’s cousin, Powell had been living in an Oshawa rooming house before being evicted in the fall of 2016. Foster says that Powell had been keeping in touch with family and friends up until October of last year.
Foster fears that Powell, who suffers from schizophrenia, may have stopped taking her medication.
“Just by the way she was talking with other people, it sounded like it was some of her schizophrenia coming out,” she says.
In January, Foster says she spoke with Powell, who was looking for a place to live. However, since that time, she hasn’t heard from her cousin.
“The last time we’ve known that she was seen was by her landlord walking along Simcoe (Street),” Foster says.
In speaking with others who know her, Foster says that there may have been possible other sightings of her cousin in the area since that time, but nothing has been confirmed.
Powell is described as white, five feet tall with a medium build and long, reddish hair.
A police investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact Det. McCurbin of the Central East Division Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-888-579-1520 ext. 2739.
Anonymous information can be sent to Durham Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.durhamregionalcrimestoppers.ca. Tipsters may be eligible for a $2,000 cash reward.