Susan Yvonne Gourley — Missed lives

Born: 1963.

Last seen: Barton St and Stirton Ave, Hamilton ON (see map below) in late November 2001.

Physical description: Female, white, 5'6" tall, 134 lbs, brown eyes, long brown hair.

Distinct marks: Pierced ears (3 per ear), panther tattoo on left thigh, tiger tattoo on one hip (unknown which side), heart and design tattoo on chest, 10mm appendectomy scar, 8mm scar on her forehead.

Leads: Susan's disappearance has often been linked with a number of assaults and murders in Hamilton between 1999-2002, namely that of Felicia Floriani and Kimlyn Tolgyes (more on that here).

Blog posts about Susan

Featured

Hamilton's serial predators and Project Advocate

Apr 29, 2015

R. Pisani

Hamilton's serial predators and Project Advocate

Apr 29, 2015

R. Pisani

Project Advocate was a special joint task force between the Hamilton and Halton police departments which formed in 2003. Project Advocate was originally formed to investigate a series of violent sexual assaults on sex workers, the murder of Kimlyn Judy Tolgyes and the disappearances of Susan Gourley and Felicia Floriani. Floriani’s remains were found in 2012 in a farmer’s field in West Lincoln, Ontario. Gourley is missing, presumed dead.

Apr 29, 2015

R. Pisani

The context of Susan Gourley's disappearance

Apr 22, 2015

Alissa Watt

The context of Susan Gourley's disappearance

Apr 22, 2015

Alissa Watt

The last confirmed sighting of Susan Gourley was November 21, 2001. She was reported missing by her mother February 28, 2002 (according to the RCMP), and by her family August 31, 2002 (according to the Hamilton police).

Regardless of the precise date, Gourley disappeared amidst a period of extreme violence against women in Hamilton, including at least 10 other assaults, murders and violent altercations during the span of a year.

It has not been proven that all of these instances are linked to the same person (nor are they likely all the same person), but it's undeniable that the ongoing epidemic of violence against women (especially sex workers) was, and remains, rampant in Hamilton.

Below is a timeline of the events surrounding Gourley's disappearance.

Apr 22, 2015

Alissa Watt

Apr 20, 2015

Alissa Watt

The Beginning. What we know so far about Susan Gourley

Apr 20, 2015

Alissa Watt

Susan was last seen in the Barton and Stirton Avenue area in Hamilton, ON in November 2001 (see map below). Hamilton Police states she was reported missing by friends and family August 30, 2002, though the RCMP states she was reported missing by her mother February 28, 2002.

The Hamilton Spectator has reported on her suspected link to other assaults and murders of women in Hamilton. Read about it here.

The Ottawa Community News printed the Hamilton Police synopsis of Gourley's disappearance here.

There are also a handful of articles about found teenager Felicia Floriani, whose disappearance is assumed to be related to Gourley's. CHCH coverage here.

Apr 20, 2015

Alissa Watt