Disappearance of Winifred Jane Smith

Winifred Jane Smith (born 19 March 1955), commonly known as Jane Smith, is a Canadian woman who disappeared from her apartment in Sudbury, Ontario, on 9 August 1975. Smith, then a 20-year-old student at Laurentian University, was last seen by her roommate at about 2 a.m. Her personal belongings were left in the apartment, and her bank account has not been used since her disappearance. The Greater Sudbury Police Service continues to list Smith as missing and has said that foul play cannot be ruled out.

Background

Smith was originally from the Newmarket and Aurora area. She attended Laurentian University in Sudbury and intended to become a social worker. According to her family, she volunteered for several causes and was elected to the university's student council during her first year. Her younger brother, John Smith, later described her as outgoing, cheerful and motivated to make a difference.

During the summer of 1975, Smith remained in Sudbury rather than returning to her family in southern Ontario. She lived with a roommate in a basement apartment on Charlotte Street and worked at a Canadian Tire store on Barrydowne Road.

Disappearance

On 8 August 1975, Smith worked a shift at Canadian Tire and returned to her apartment that evening. Her roommate last saw her at approximately 2 a.m. on 9 August, shortly before Smith was believed to have gone to bed. When the roommate awoke at about 7:30 a.m., Smith was no longer in the apartment. She was reported missing later that morning.

Smith left her personal possessions in her room. Her brother said in 2025 that, apart from the clothing she was wearing, nothing appeared to have been taken, and that her bank account had never subsequently been accessed. She also failed to attend a scheduled shift at Canadian Tire later on 9 August. No confirmed sighting of Smith has been reported since her disappearance.

At the time she disappeared, Smith was described as tall and weighing approximately . She had blue eyes, reddish-brown hair, a small round scar between her eyebrows and wore contact lenses. Some of her teeth had gold dental work. She was reported to have been wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt with a zipper and front pouch, Wrangler blue jeans and red Cougar running shoes, and to have been carrying a large black shoulder bag.

Investigation and later appeals

The disappearance was investigated by Sudbury police. The circumstances of Smith's departure remain unknown, and police have stated that the passage of time means they cannot exclude the possibility that she was the victim of foul play.

In 2006, the Greater Sudbury Police Service included Smith among nine people on a newly created historical missing-persons webpage. The service said that it had contacted relatives for permission to publish the cases on its website and through the Doe Network. Her case is also included in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's national missing-persons database under case number 2014002401.

On the 50th anniversary of Smith's disappearance in August 2025, her relatives made a renewed public appeal for information. Her brother said that he did not believe she had voluntarily left her family, noting that she had appeared happy in Sudbury and that remaining out of contact was inconsistent with her character. Smith's nieces, Katie and Jennifer Smith, said that they hoped anyone with information would come forward before memories and potential witnesses were lost. The family also sought recollections from Smith's former friends so that younger relatives could learn more about her life.

See also

• List of people who disappeared mysteriously (1970s)

External links

• Winifred Jane Smith at Canada's Missing
• Jane Smith at Sudbury Rainbow Crime Stoppers