Last December, then 37-year-old Elnaz Hajtamiri was allegedly confronted by two men in an underground car park in Richmond Hill and hit over the head with a frying pan.  Haitamiri needed about 40 stitches to close the wound.
The suspects, who allegedly also tried to kidnap her, took off in a vehicle after a concerned citizen intervened.  A short time later, investigators reportedly located and seized a tracking device in Haitamiri’s car.
In April, York Regional Police executed a warrant at a residence in Brampton that led to the arrest of Riyasat Singh, 23, of Mississauga.
At the time, York Regional Police also issued a Canada-wide warrant for the arrest of Harshdeep Binner, 23, of Brampton.  He remains free.
Both men face charges of attempted murder, attempted kidnapping, possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000 and mischief under $5,000.
Today, Ontario Provincial Police announced that Mohamad Lilo, 35, of Brossard, Quebec, has been charged with kidnapping in connection with Hajtamiri’s disappearance on January 12.
They also said he now faces charges of attempted murder and attempted kidnapping stemming from the December 2021 incident.
Lilo, who has a July 13 court date, was also charged last January with criminal harassment stemming from the couple’s October 2021 split.
Hajtamiri, who is also called Tamiri, was last seen at a residence in Wasaga Beach on January 12.  According to the OPP, three suspects dressed in “police gear” forcibly dragged her from a family member’s home where she had been hiding.  All fled the scene in a stolen white Lexus RX sport utility vehicle, police said.
Three months ago, the Ontario Provincial Police’s Case Manager along with Farsi and Arabic-speaking members of the agency recapped the investigative activities known up until then and released a video appeal for help from the missing woman’s mother, Fariba, in Iran.
Speaking to CP24 late this afternoon, Bill Dickson, the OPP’s acting director of media relations, said that precisely because new charges have been laid and people believed to be connected to this case are before the courts, this investigation is not over “by any means”.  .
He said police remain focused on reuniting Haitamiri with her family.
“Our hope is not to find a body.  Our hope remains that we will find Elnaz Hajtamiri alive and bring her home to her family,” he said.
“We want to find out what has happened to Elnaz Hajtamiri, where she is, what her condition is.  Will this lead to more charges, more arrests?  We do not know.  We can’t speculate on that, but anything is possible at this point.”
Dixon said this missing person search, which is now more than six months old, is “very frustrating” for investigators.
“We know it has to be out there somewhere and our research team is working tirelessly trying to find out where it is, how it was moved from Wasaga Beach to another location, if it was relocated after that, we just don’t know,” he said, adding that those what the police are going through pales in comparison to what Hajtamiri’s family is going through.
Dixon urged anyone who knows anything about this case, “no matter how trivial,” to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
“It could be what leads us to locate Elnaz,” he said. 
In a statement, Hajtamiri’s family expressed their gratitude to the OPP for their “progress in apprehending the suspects in her attack and abduction and understanding what happened to our beloved Elnaz.”
“These last 6 months have been exhausting and painful since her disappearance as we have continued to search endlessly for her.  We have faced nothing but silence from the kidnappers and no trace of our beautiful girl has been found,” they said.
“We hope that the arrest of this suspect will bring us closer to locating her.”
Hajtamiri’s family continued to thank Det.  Insp.  Martin Graham and the entire OPP team for their “relentless work, compassion and dedication to this case.”
“We are truly grateful and hopeful that this development will lead us to finding Elnaz,” the family said.
“If anyone out there has any information about this case or the whereabouts of Elnaz, please come forward and share with the police.”
Hajtamiri is described as five-foot-three with a slim build and shoulder-length black hair, which had been cut to a shorter length before she was abducted.  He immigrated from Iran to Canada less than four years ago.
Anyone with information is asked to call 1-833-728-3415, their local police department or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at 
-with files from CTV News Barrie