Missing for nine years: Stratford police offer $10,000 reward for information about Derek Ritz

Derek Ritz was 51 years old when he was reported missing on Jan. 7, 2017, seven days after he was last seen leaving a home in the area of Avonton Road in Sebringville on Dec. 31, 2016.

Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Nine years after Derek Ritz was last seen at a home in Sebringville, in the Township of Perth South, at around 1 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2016, investigators with the Stratford Police Service are hoping to entice first-hand witnesses to come forward with new information that could close the City of Stratford’s only cold case.

On Jan. 1, Stratford police announced it is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the confirmed whereabouts of Ritz and the closure of this case, and/or the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible. The city’s police service officially took over the missing-persons investigation from Perth County OPP in April 2019, just over two years after Ritz, who was 51 at the time, was reported missing to OPP on Jan. 7, 2017.

“For me, the Stratford police and the (Stratford police services) board, and the investigator with Please Bring Me Home, I don’t think the case has ever really gone away,” acting deputy police chief Mark Taylor said. “We’ve pushed and pushed and interviewed as many people as we possibly can. We’ve got lots of information, just not that final piece to close the case for us. I think this reward is just a reminder and maybe a little bit of an incentive for people to come forward with further information that benefits the case, benefits us and helps everyone in trying to close the case for us.”

Since the Stratford police took over the search for Ritz, investigators have interviewed more than 100 potential witnesses and conducted exhaustive searches of properties in the area for evidence of what happened to Ritz on the night he disappeared.

Taylor said most of the information shared with investigators to this point has been rumours and hearsay, and investigators haven’t been able to find any hard evidence that could close the case. The difficulty with the case, he said, has to do with that lack of physical evidence and first-hand accounts, with many potential witnesses providing investigators information they heard from friends or friends of friends.

“Right now, the difficulty is we don’t know where he is,” communications officer Const. Darren Fischer added. “I know that sounds really simple, but that’s exactly what it is; being unable to find Mr. Ritz or anyone being able to confirm any possible location for him, as well, that can be corroborated.”

While the investigation into Ritz’s disappearance has faded from the public spotlight over the years, Shelly Smith, a friend of Ritz’s, has worked diligently to keep the case front and centre with her awareness campaign and Facebook page, Justice For Ritzy.

In addition to canvassing the city with flyers seeking information about Ritz’s disappearance and speaking with media about the case and the need to solve it for nearly a decade, Smith also engaged Please Bring Me Home Canada, an organization that uses volunteers and private investigators to help police reunite missing persons with their families, to help with the Ritz case.

In 2025, Smith and Please Bring Me Home Canada pushed the Stratford police services board to offer the reward for information on Ritz’s whereabouts, a notion Taylor said police and the board members agreed could be helpful in solving the investigation.

“When the reward for Ritzy finally became available – especially after nine long years – it meant far more than just money,” Smith said. “For myself and Please Bring Me Home, the ones who have been fighting, searching, advocating and refusing to let that person be forgotten, it says Ritzy matters and our fight matters.

“Families (of missing people) and advocates often feel like they are shouting into the void. A reward acknowledges that Ritzy’s case deserves attention, effort and resources – officially and publicly. Even after nearly a decade, hope doesn’t disappear, but it has somewhat been buried under exhaustion and grief. A reward has relit that flame.”

Smith says she and the investigator assigned to this case at Please Bring Me Home Canada refuse to let Ritz’s case be forgotten. The Please Bring Me Home investigator has spoken with more than 60 people as part of their investigation, sharing all information they obtain with the Stratford Police Service.

From the perspective of the Stratford police, Taylor said investigators are appreciative of the efforts put in by the Please Bring Me Home investigator and Smith, both in keeping the case alive in the minds of area residents and in trying to find closure for Ritz and the people who care for him.

The $10,000 reward offered by the Stratford Police Service will be available to anyone who provides information that results in the confirmed whereabouts of Ritz and the closure of this case, and/or the arrest and conviction of the person or people responsible. Anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is urged to contact the Stratford Police Service.

All information can be directed to Det. Sgt. Mike Weyers at 519-271-4147 ext. 8184, or to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.