NIPIGON — The sister of a Toronto woman found dead in Nipigon last year feels police have mishandled the investigation.
The body of Vanessa Stacy Geisler, 34, was recovered from the water in the Nipigon Lagoon in October 2024.
The OPP's investigation is ongoing.
Police have not ruled out foul play, and say they are determined to find out how she died.
Gizella Tsatsaklas, sister of the deceased woman, said earlier this year the family was told her death was consistent with drowning, but that that explanation doesn't make sense to her.
Tsatsaklas spoke out again this week, issuing a statement saying she has serious concerns about how the case has been handled.
"It is my belief that proper procedures were not followed, which has severely impacted the investigation," she said.
Specifically, she alleged a man who alerted police about an incident in the water the day her sister died was allowed to go home without being interviewed immediately because police believed he was too distraught and intoxicated to speak.
Tsatsaklas feels this compromised the investigation and the timely collection of potential evidence, and may have contributed to "a failure of justice."
She said the family wants an independent probe into how the case has been managed, and has contacted the province's Law Enforcement Complaints Agency.
"The police did not do what they were supposed to do in the beginning, and they clearly think that they did the right thing and they didn't," she charged.
The LECA has not confirmed whether it will conduct an investigation, saying confidentiality provisions of the Community Safety and Policing Act prohibit it from commenting on specific cases.
Newswatch reached out to the OPP, which issued a statement Thursday expressing sympathy with the family and friends as they continue to grieve their loss.
They said their investigation continues under the direction of the criminal investigation branch, and that every effort is being made to understand what happened to the woman, "with the goal to provide the resolution her family deserves."
The statement added that death cases are inherently complex, and require time to thoroughly investigate.
"Detectives continue to maintain open communication with the family, sharing as much information as they can while protecting the integrity of the case. As difficult as it is, it is not always possible to share all details of the investigation with families, friends, or with the media, in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and potential court proceedings."
OPP are asking anyone with information about Vanessa Stacy Geisler's death who has not yet come forward to contact them at 1-888-310-1122, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at ontariocrimestoppers.ca.
