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It was a cold November night in Victoria, British Columbia, the kind of evening where the damp air seeps into your bones. At 5:45pm, 26-year-old Emma Fillipoff entered the 7-Eleven on Douglas Street. The surveillance footage showed a young woman wrapped in a beige winter coat, her hair tied in a loose bun, and her hands full of bags. She purchased a pre-paid cell phone – a strange decision for someone who had never owned one before.
But what stood out wasn’t the transaction. It was what happened next.
Emma lingered by the store’s glass doors, her eyes darting nervously to the street outside. She paced back and forth, hesitating to leave as though the world beyond the threshold held an unseen threat. Was someone waiting for her? Or was this fear all in her mind?
Minutes later, Emma stepped outside, vanishing into the growing darkness of the city.
By the end of the night, she would cross paths with concerned strangers, speak briefly with police, and leave a string of haunting moments etched in memory. Then, Emma Fillipoff disappeared without a trace.
What happened to the free-spirited artist who had come to Victoria searching for meaning and peace? Today, we look into the eerie details of Emma’s final hours, a mystery with countless unanswered questions.
Emma Fillipoff was born on January 6, 1986, in Perth, Ontario, a picturesque small town with a close-knit community. Growing up, Emma was a bright, sensitive, and creative child, often described as artistic and introspective – a deeply kind soul who danced, painted, and approached life with a sense of wonder.
From a young age, Emma habitually wrote poetry, and always had a journal on hand. Her optimistic nature and world wonder shone through her words, mirroring a somewhat enchanted existence. Her childhood friends remember Emma as a quiet but magnetic presence – someone whose gentle smile and warm demeanor naturally drew others to her.
Her parents, Shelley and James Fillipoff raised Emma and her three siblings in a home filled with love and creativity. However, as Emma grew older, cracks began to form in her idyllic world. Her parents’ separation in her teenage years deeply affected her, and she became increasingly private, withdrawing from those around her.
Sadly, she did not have the best experience in love. Her sister, Ellen, felt that Emma’s intoxicating beauty brought unwanted attention and made it challenging for her to grow into herself and explore her own personality. Her dad would sometimes worry about how nice she was to everyone – he didn't want people taking advantage of her big heart or getting the wrong idea about her affectionate manner.
Emma’s love for adventure and self-discovery also led her to explore the world. She taught English in China, studied culinary arts in British Columbia, and earned a diploma in photojournalism in Ontario. But despite her achievements, she seemed to be searching for something – a sense of peace or belonging that always eluded her.
In 2011, at the age of 25, Emma moved to Victoria, British Columbia. Drawn to the coastal city by its natural beauty and artistic community, she sought a fresh start. At first, she stayed with family friends, then rented an apartment for a while, but soon she opted for a more minimalist lifestyle, often moving between different accommodations. For a time, she lived on a boat, sometimes she slept in the woods and on one occasion in a tree. Later, she sought refuge at the Sandy Merriman House, a women’s shelter in downtown Victoria.
Emma found work at Red Fish Blue Fish, a popular seafood restaurant in the city’s Inner Harbour. Her colleagues described her as kind but private, someone who valued her independence and preferred solitude. She was known for her generosity, often giving away her possessions or helping those in need. It was not unusual to see Emma walking barefoot, or simply sitting in the sun, soaking up its heat. She spent time with street artists, boat owners and homeless people at Victoria’s inner-harbour and was embraced for her free spirit and sense of adventure.
Yet beneath her serene exterior, Emma was struggling. Friends and family noted that she had become increasingly withdrawn. During her time in Victoria, she became friends with her roommate and kindred spirit, Mikaela Buchart. Mikaela respected Emma’s need for privacy and there was a quiet understanding that the always pensive Emma was looking inward to try and find herself. Emma had a strange diet, consisting almost solely of popcorn and olives. At one stage she only ate fish. Emma would joke and say she suspected she had scurvy.
In the summer of 2011, she bought herself a van, hoping to use it as her own ‘home on wheels.’ She was excited to retrieve all her belongings from storage and she looked forward to travelling around Victoria with it. However, the van broke down often: it had to be towed on three occasions and proved to be more of a burden than a ticket to independence.
While living in Victoria, Emma often talked about travelling farther afield too. She mentioned going back to her family in Ontario, but then she also told a friend she was considering moving to Salt Spring Island or Tofino, BC. Other plans were more idealistic, like sailing to Mexico, or relocating to Costa Rica.
As fall of 2011 drew closer, her journal entries show a growing feeling of paranoia – she wrote about feeling watched and followed, and her poetry hinted at a deep internal conflict. After her parents split up, she struggled with the concept of home. One of her poems reads:
“Home. The only place where I don't know how to be. So deep beneath the surface I cannot breathe.”
That winter, a childhood friend of Emma’s who also lived in Victoria noticed her increasingly strange behaviour: she would constantly arrange things into shapes or patterns: food, feathers, stones… Concerned, the friend reached out to Emma’s father James, telling him about a strange incident where she found Emma outside in the middle of the night, in a euphoric state, incessantly talking about the stars and the grass. James prepared to make his way to Victoria, but when Emma found out about it, she told him not to come and assured him that she was okay.
Back in Ontario, friends and family were not too worried about Emma, seeing as she stayed in contact with them via email. However, as 2012 progressed, Emma became increasingly withdrawn and isolated herself from many people. Her sense of adventure had waned and she cancelled a trip to Mexico she had planned with a friend. She rarely strayed from her immediate surroundings – sticking close to the pier and shelter like they were her safe harbours.
Emma was clearly struggling with her mental health. One day, a friend drove by the shelter and noticed Emma standing in the rain, wet and frazzled, staring at a murder of crows. On another occasion Emma carried furniture from her room in the shelter out to the kerb. She claimed that the furniture made too much noise and that it wouldn’t stop talking to her.
Shelter staff worried that Emma might be suicidal and called the police to intervene. Due to privacy laws they did not contact her family at this time. The police also did not step in. Instead, they asked staff to call again if her strange behaviour persisted. They did not call again.
In the days leading up to her disappearance, her car had to be towed from one long-term parking lot, to the next. She told one tow truck driver that she was moving back to Perth and she seemed excited about it.
During this time, Emma reached out to her mother, Shelley, voicing a desire to return home to Ontario. Yet, in a moment that now feels heavy with foreboding, she called back, uncertain, saying she wasn’t ready after all. Shelley offered to join Emma to help her with the move, which comforted Emma. Shelley returned Emma’s call, using the number Emma had called her from. She was shocked to discover that Emma was living in a women’s shelter. Concerned for her well-being, Shelley insisted travelling to Victoria as soon as possible. Emma accepted at first, but then assured her she was okay and would deal with the situation herself. Four more phone calls followed, with Emma changing her mind every time. Shelley decided it was time to step in, and despite Emma’s request for her not to come, she booked a ticket, arriving on the evening of November 28.
Before Shelley’s arrival, Emma’s behavior continued to be erratic. On November 23, 2012, surveillance footage captured her at the Victoria YMCA, repeatedly entering and exiting the building as if she were avoiding someone. In the span of a couple of minutes, she enters and leaves six times, each time walking through two doors. The footage sees her standing inside, looking out, as if avoiding someone. Was this real, or only Emma’s perception? Her actions puzzled the staff and others around her.
At 4:30 am, on the morning of November 28, Emma called Shelley and said:
“Don’t come Mom, not today.”
Shelley noticed a change in Emma’s voice, and more concerned than ever, she decided to disregard her daughter’s request and took the flight as planned.
Back in Victoria, Emma had an early start. At 7:00am she went to the Chateau Victoria car park, where she had left her van. She was visibly distressed about a notice left on her vehicle and pleaded with staff for more time to move her van. They agreed to allow for another day.
At 8:23am, surveillance footage from a 7-Eleven at the corner of Douglas and Humboldt Streets captured Emma using her debit card to purchase a $200 prepaid credit card. In the footage, Emma is wearing a beige winter jacket and camouflage pants. Her hair is tied up in a bun, and she’s carrying several bags, including her orange purse. She doesn’t leave immediately. Instead, she lingers near the doors, glancing nervously out the windows. It’s as if she’s afraid to step outside, or perhaps she’s waiting for someone – or avoiding them.
At 10:00am, Julien Huard who knew Emma from Ontario, spotted Emma near Alix Goolden Hall on Pandora Street while riding the bus. Concerned, he got off the bus and approached her. Emma stood near the edge of the sidewalk, motionless, one step away from the road. She was wearing a puffy, light-coloured coat with her hoodie pulled up. Her hair spilled out in disarray, and she was weighed down with plastic bags in her hands, over her shoulder, and across her chest.
Julien observed her for a moment, but Emma didn’t notice him. When he asked if she needed help, she slowly shook her head. Her silent response and vacant demeanour left Julien unsettled. The thing is, they had a past and things did not end well between them, so Julien assumed that she did not want to talk to him, because of their history. Not sure if he could be of any help, he decided to leave.
An unconfirmed sighting placed Emma at the library around noon. This is plausible, as she habitually spent a lot of time there as it was a safe space.
The next reported sighting was around lunchtime. One of Emma's friends who worked with her at Red Fish Blue Fish caught a glimpse of her near Our Place, the soup kitchen on Pandora Avenue. Something was off. When he asked if she was okay, Emma just mumbled that she wasn't feeling well but didn’t want to talk. When her friend offered a hug, Emma flinched back, looking almost scared. For someone who was usually warm and affectionate, this was completely out of character.
Shortly after, a witness saw Emma shuffling along Pandora Avenue. Throughout the afternoon, Emma was spotted multiple times on Douglas Street. Two witnesses saw her walking back and forth in the street, appearing lost and confused. Alarmed by her behavior, they called 911 to report their concerns. It’s unclear if police followed up on the call.
In another sighting, Emma was seen walking downtown with an older man. No details about this man have ever been provided.
A man visiting the Rock Bay shelter later claimed to have seen Emma there. However, this is odd, as Emma had previously avoided staying at Rock Bay because it was a co-ed shelter.
Between 4:00 and 6:00pm, a witness saw Emma twice in different locations. The first encounter was outside the Bay Centre on Douglas Street, where she moved slowly along the sidewalk. Nearly an hour later, the same witness was stopped at a traffic light at Douglas and Finlayson Streets when he saw Emma crossing in front of their car. She glanced in his direction and offered a sad smile. He wanted to help but worried his intentions might have been misunderstood.
At 5:45, Emma returned to the same 7-Eleven from earlier that day. This time, she uses her debit card to purchase a prepaid cell phone. Up to that point in time, Emma had never owned a cell phone, so this decision is rather curious. Once again, surveillance footage captured her lingering near the doors, nervously scanning the street as though she was afraid to leave or tried to avoid someone outside. To this day, the phone she purchased has never been activated.
From the 7-Eleven, Emma went to the Sandy Merriman women’s shelter, where she became visibly distressed when a staff member told her that her mother, Shelley, was on her way to Victoria. Reportedly, Emma was visibly shaken and anxious and stormed out. A fellow resident went outside to talk to her, but she could not catch up with her. Witnesses later described Emma as torn between relief and fear at the news of her mother’s arrival.
Shortly after leaving the shelter, Emma flagged down an ABC Taxi. She asked to be taken to the airport but changed her mind mid-ride, claiming she couldn’t afford the fare – even though she had several thousand dollars in her bank account. The driver took her back to where he picked her up. Along the way, Emma requested to sit in the cab for a while, appearing increasingly paranoid. When the driver’s dispatch radio made noise, Emma became alarmed, staring at it and asking:
“Why is there noise coming out of that?”
She eventually paid the fare with her debit card, then got out of the cab and vanished into the dusky November night.
About an hour later, an acquaintance, Dennis Quay, bumped into a barefoot Emma on the street near the Empress Hotel. He had only met Emma once before but could see something was wrong. She was standing at a traffic light, but did not start walking when it turned green. She seemed disoriented, looking around nervously like someone was following her. When Dennis asked if she was okay, she didn’t respond. He stayed with her for half an hour, before calling 911, and waited until two officers arrived. Certain that Emma was in safe hands, Dennis left the scene while the officers were talking to her.
During their conversation, Emma assured them she was fine and not a danger to herself or others. She elaborated, saying she was working through some issues and was heading to a friend’s house. According to the report she was calm and coherent and seemed to be in control of her actions. Satisfied that she would be safe, the officers let her go.
For years, this was the last confirmed sighting of Emma Fillipoff.
In the weeks, months and years that followed, the officers have been criticised for letting Emma go. Something was quite obviously amiss, as she was wandering aimlessly, with no shoes on a chilly November night. Dennis Quay has also expressed how guilty he feels for not staying until the officers left. He thought that they would take her with them, or called someone to pick her up. Bear in mind, to Dennis, Emma was someone whom he had only met once. So, all things considered, he did a good job staying with her and calling for help.
When Emma’s mom arrived at the women’s shelter at 11pm, there was no sign of Emma. She had also not claimed her bed that night, and when she failed to arrive by midnight, they called police to report her missing.
Emma’s red Mazda MPV van was discovered parked near the Chateau Victoria Hotel the next day. Inside, investigators found her belongings, including her passport, laptop, journals, and recently borrowed library books. The scene suggested Emma hadn’t planned to disappear intentionally.
In the following weeks, there were some unconfirmed sightings of Emma around Victoria – at the Lifestyle Market on Douglas Street the day after she went missing, or at the inner harbour on December 2nd. However, nothing brought them any closer to locating Emma.
On the morning of December 5, Emma's $200 prepaid credit card, purchased at the 7-Eleven, was flagged for use at a gas station near the Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre and the Galloping Goose Trail – about 12 kilometres from downtown Victoria. Police questioned a man who claimed to have found the card, but in the end, he was released.
This same man contacted Emma’s mother, Shelley, multiple times. During these conversations, he admitted he wasn’t entirely sure where he had found the card, though he said police told him it was at the Juan de Fuca Centre. He also disclosed to Shelley that he was struggling with alcoholism, adding yet another layer of uncertainty to an already convoluted lead.
Over the years, several theories have emerged regarding Emma’s disappearance. Some believe Emma may have experienced a psychotic break. Her journals contained cryptic and dark entries, including one that read:
“To everyone, from dead Emma. Hello. I figure someone will be on this computer at some point and will read this. Okay. So I’m dead. Floating about on energy or not. Watching dying stars, reviving stars, and dreaming milky dreams and shadow dancing on your timelines or whatever. Good luck, every heart. I love you. Em.”
While not explicitly a suicide note, these writings revealed Emma’s poetic and introspective nature, reflecting her emotional complexity. Forensic psychologists and linguists who analysed the note agree that it does not fit the profile of a traditional suicide letter. There is no clear farewell, no explicit despair – just lyrical musings on existence, energy, and love. Those closest to Emma hold firm in their belief that she would not have taken her own life, interpreting the words as a window into her creative mind rather than a final goodbye.
Still, divers searched the waters near the Inner Harbour, and extensive ground searches were conducted in and around Victoria. Despite these efforts, no trace of Emma was found.
From time to time, tips came in, some more promising than others… Like a photo that was taken of a young woman with an uncanny likeness to Emma at a café, Elysian Coffee, in Vancouver on March 24th, 2014. Even Emma’s family believed this was the break they had been waiting for. Unfortunately, the woman was able to identify herself, and it was yet another dead end.
Another theory is that Emma may have fallen victim to foul play. In May 2014, a year and a half after she vanished, a strange incident was reported in Gastown, Vancouver. A man wearing a green shirt can be seen on CCTV footage inside a clothing store. He was agitated and had Emma’s crumpled up missing persons poster in his hand. According to staff, the man said that Emma was his girlfriend and that she just wanted to be left alone. Despite the detailed description of the man (he had flame tattoos on his arms and a noticeable limp), investigators have never been able to track him down. He became known as the “Green-Shirt-Guy,” and became as elusive as Emma herself.
There was also a journal entry by Emma that caused concern:
“I feel like there's someone following me. A car on the hill when I rose and then drove as I walked by and paused in the street. Feel weird sometimes. Feel like I'm being stalked.”
Emma had an ex-boyfriend in Perth, Ontario, called Julian Huard. They met in 2011, shortly before she left for Victoria. Julien was quite taken with Emma and struggled when she left. He called her home, hoping to connect with her in some way. Realising that he had become obsessed, he pulled himself together and wrote an apology email to Emma’s dad. Concerningly, however, he stated:
“I'm sorry that I didn't deal better with the situation and annoyed you in the process with my phone calls. The last thing I want to do is be stalking her like I did the last time.”
And before long – who would Emma run into in Victoria? Julien claimed that his encounter with Emma was purely coincidental, however. He even agreed to be interviewed on CBC’s ‘The Fifth Estate’ to clear his name. Still, investigators were not so sure. He did, after all by his own admission, also see her on the day of her disappearance. The RCMP looked into his background and came up empty. Eventually, Julien passed a polygraph test, and they concluded that he had nothing to do with Emma’s disappearance.
Her friends in BC recalled that Emma had talked being harassed by someone she met in Campbell River at the culinary arts school in 2008/2009. Because of this, Emma was wary of men and avoided social situations where she was forced to interact with them. However, Emma never wrote anything about this person in her journal, nor did she mention him to her friends in Ontario. Even the three friends she trusted enough to open up to – she never told any of them his name.
There is also the possibility that Emma opted to disappear. Her minimalist lifestyle and desire for solitude may have driven her to start anew under a different identity. However, her family finds this theory unlikely, as Emma deeply valued her relationships and would not have intentionally caused her family such pain. And since her disappearance she has not been in touch with any of her friends of relatives.
In June 2018, new information surfaced. At around 5am on November 29, 2012, a man on his way to work spotted a young woman darting along the side of the road near 1264 Esquimalt Road in Victoria. Concerned, he pulled over, and she climbed into his vehicle. She was shoeless, soaking wet, and appeared to have been walking all night. Once inside the car, her demeanor shifted – she seemed calm and asked to be taken to Colwood to visit a friend. Since he was already running late for his new job, the man said he could not take her all the way, but offered to drop her closer to her destination.
After a brief five-minute drive, he let her out near the intersection of Craigflower and Admirals, next to a 24-hour gas station. As soon as she exited, her behavior changed abruptly. She appeared paranoid, darting back and forth in the street before heading toward Colwood. The man didn’t realize the significance of the encounter until nearly six years later, when he saw Emma Fillipoff’s missing person case. He contacted VicPD, who referred him to Crime Stoppers, but when no follow-up occurred, he reached out to Emma’s mother, Shelley. This encounter marked the last sighting of Emma – nine hours after what was previously considered to be the last one.
Emma’s mother, Shelley, has been relentless in her search for answers. She has walked the streets of Vancouver, handing out missing person posters and following up on potential sightings. Through the years, Shelley has reached out to various media platforms to keep Emma's story alive. In November 2023, on the 12th anniversary of Emma’s disappearance, Victoria police released a composite image of the "Green Shirt Guy," hoping to generate new leads in the case.
Despite the emotional toll, Shelley remains determined to find her daughter or uncover the truth about what happened to her. She feels the most likely explanation for her daughter’s disappearance is that she suffered a psychotic break and has been living on the streets ever since. However, if this were the case… Shelley struggles to believe that Emma would never contact her younger brother, Alex again, as they were very close.
Shelley has considered all possibilities: perhaps Emma was involved in drugs, or perhaps sex work. Maybe she was a victim of human trafficking… Either way, in an interview with VICE, Shelley grimly stated:
“I’m not buying a happy ending at all… Unfortunately what’s sticking in my head is that someone has her.”
The disappearance of Emma Fillipoff remains one of Canada’s most haunting mysteries. How does someone vanish without a trace in a city filled with cameras, witnesses, and resources? Was Emma the victim of a crime, or did she succumb to her own inner struggles?
More than a decade later, Emma’s family and friends continue to search for her, hoping for a breakthrough. Sadly, Emma Fillipoff remains unfound. If you have any information about her whereabouts, please contact the Victoria Police Department or Crime Stoppers. See the show notes for more information.
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This was The Evidence Locker. Thank you for listening!