Hey, it's Nancy. Before we begin today, I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Crime Beat early and ad-free on Amazon music included with Prime.

A listener's note. The following episode contains coarse language, adult themes, and content of a violent and disturbing nature nature and may not be suitable for everyone.

Listener discretion is advised.

Sharon Fortis remembers the summer of 2005 as both the best and worst of her life.

Her daughter Alicia Ross, an avid canoeist, had just told her she was about to get a promotion at her sales job at Hewlett-Packard.

The future was looking bright for the 25-year-old, until she vanished from her family's Thornhill, Ontario home.

I ran into her bedroom, her purse was there, her phone was there.

There was no real reason for her just to pick up and leave and go somewhere

without letting somebody know.

I knew something was very wrong.

I'm Nancy Hixed, a senior crime reporter for Global News.

Today, on Crime Beat, something a bit different.

We begin a special series where I'll be sharing stories

covered by one of my colleagues from the TV documentary series.

In this episode, I'm joined by Catherine McDonald, as she shares the story of Alicia Ross, everyone's daughter.

Alicia's mom says her daughter had the bluest eyes. Except when she laughed or cried, that's when Alicia's eyes would turn green.

Alicia laughed a lot that summer.

She was 25 years old and excited about the future.

She'd spent a year in Australia following undergrad and had recently moved home to a suburb north of Toronto.

That summer, Alicia had been doing what she loved most, camping in northern Ontario.

They told me it was a very hard portage.

It had rained and the ground was very mucky.

...