Natanis Merasty: Missing from Edmonton, Alberta
Case Summary from Canada's Missing
File number: 2025024076 : Case summary below is a paraphrase of information published by Canada's Missing.
Natanis Merasty, 24, travelled from Saskatchewan to Edmonton, Alberta, on Friday, May 2, 2025. She stayed at the Continental Inn on Stony Plain Road with a group of individuals. In the early morning hours of Monday, May 5, 2025, Natanis left the Continental Inn. Edmonton Police Service later released surveillance footage showing her movements that morning, including her arrival at a nearby 7-Eleven at approximately 2:55 a.m.
Natanis has not been in contact with her family since that time. Police consider her disappearance suspicious.
Missing Person
- Name: Natanis Merasty
- Age at disappearance: 24
- Birthdate range based on age: May 6, 2000 – May 5, 2001. Canada's Missing lists her year of birth as 2001.
- Gender: Female
- Bio group: Indigenous (Peter Ballantyne Indian Reserve)
- Height: 175 cm (5 ft 9 in, another source says 5'"8)
- Weight: 77 kg (170 lb, another source says 180 pounds)
- Build: Medium
- Eyes: Brown
- Hair: Brown, long
- Last known location: 7-Eleven at 156 Street and 107 Avenue in Edmonton, Alberta.
- Date last seen: Monday, May 5, 2025, at approximately 2:55 a.m., based on surveillance footage from the 7-Eleven.
- Backpack: Black, cross-body
- Jewelry: Stud earrings
- Jewelry: Silver, aluminum or stainless-steel necklace
- Pants: Black leggings
- Shirt: Grey and black, with black long sleeves
- Shoes: White Nike brand
- Scars: Self-harm scars on the legs and arms
- Tattoo: Possible cross tattoo on either forearm
- Tattoo: Left hand: rose and vine with the initials "DJM"
Timeline
The following timeline is based on information released by the Edmonton Police Service and reported by Global News on July 18, 2025.
An important distinction should be made between Natanis herself and her vehicle. The May 5 surveillance footage establishes Natanis's presence at the Continental Inn and 7-Eleven. Later entries concern reported sightings or movements of her vehicle and do not establish that Natanis was inside it.
- Monday, May 5, 2025 — 1:22 a.m.: Natanis is captured on CCTV at the Continental Inn, 16625 Stony Plain Road, Edmonton. She is observed driving away in her 2007 black Hyundai Tucson with Saskatchewan licence plates.
- Monday, May 5, 2025 — approximately 1:30 a.m.: Natanis's vehicle returns to the Continental Inn.
- Monday, May 5, 2025 — 2:37 a.m.: Natanis's vehicle leaves the Continental Inn again.
- Monday, May 5, 2025 — approximately 2:55 a.m.: Natanis is captured on CCTV at a 7-Eleven at 156 Street and 107 Avenue in west Edmonton. She leaves the store at approximately 2:55 a.m. This is the last reported surveillance-camera sighting of Natanis.
- Monday, May 5, 2025 — later: Natanis's vehicle is reported in the Edmonton, Sherwood Park, Buck Lake, Nordegg and Lake Louise areas.
- Tuesday, May 6, 2025: The vehicle travels through British Columbia.
- Wednesday, May 7, 2025: The vehicle travels by ferry to Nanaimo, British Columbia.
- Friday, May 9, 2025: Natanis is reported missing by her family to the RCMP in Saskatchewan after they had not heard from her for four days.
- Saturday, May 10, 2025: The vehicle returns to the Edmonton area.
- Monday, May 12, 2025: The vehicle is observed west of Lloydminster. Police later stated that the vehicle was still black on this date.
- Thursday, May 15, 2025: Natanis's vehicle is found abandoned on James Smith Cree Nation in east-central Saskatchewan. By this point, the vehicle has been repainted silver.
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Thursday, May 22, 2025:
Edmonton Police Service takes over the investigation.
There are theories about the vehicle, the Vancouver Island trip, the repainting, who might have been driving, and why the vehicle ultimately appeared on James Smith Cree Nation.
Natanis Merasty's Vehicle
Natanis was driving a 2007 black Hyundai Tucson with Saskatchewan licence plates while she was in Edmonton. It's not clear who is driving the vehicle when it is spotted outside of Edmonton.
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| This is a still of the actual vehicle. Plate says 286 NTX. Taken from APTNNews. |
Questions About the Vehicle Route
The publicly available information does not provide an exact route between every reported location where the vehicle is noted to have been. The route from the Edmonton area to Nanaimo that the vehicle took is therefore incomplete. The reported locations also pertain to the vehicle's movements.
In my opinion, one unusual aspect of the movement is from Sherwood Park through Buck Lake and Nordegg toward Lake Louise. This is not necessarily the most direct route from the Edmonton area toward the Lower Mainland. Other possible routes exist, including routes through Jasper and Kamloops or south through Calgary.
Speculation: One possible explanation is that the driver deliberately avoided some of the major highway corridors. If that were the case, minimizing public exposure could have been one possible reason. However, there is no public evidence establishing that the driver was attempting to avoid detection, and this should be regarded only as my hypothesis.
Another possibility is that the route was determined by circumstances that are not publicly known. The available timeline does not identify who was driving the Tucson during the later sightings, nor does it establish why the vehicle travelled through those particular areas. I think amateur investigators working on this mystery could document any highway closures in western Canada during the relevant time frame, particularly if that was between Sherwood Park and greater Vancouver.
Possible Route Through the Rockies
If the vehicle travelled from Nordegg toward Lake Louise, one possible route would have taken it west on the David Thompson Highway toward Saskatchewan River Crossing and then south toward Lake Louise through Banff National Park. This is only one possible reconstruction; the published police timeline does not provide the exact roads used, just vehicle locations.
The unusual nature of the reported route is worth noting, but there may be explanations that are not publicly known. I do have expertise on western Canada as a former author of a travel guide for the region. Additionally, I have worked in Nordegg, Jasper, Banff, and Canmore, and know the highways well.
Vehicle on Vancouver Island
The published timeline says the vehicle travelled by ferry to Nanaimo on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, and that the vehicle was back in the Edmonton area on Saturday, May 10, 2025. The public reporting does not provide the exact time of the May 10 Edmonton-area sighting. Consequently, the exact date on which the vehicle left Vancouver Island cannot be established from the published timeline alone.
When did the vehicle leave Vancouver Island?
Possible ferry-departure window: May 7, May 8, May 9, or, theoretically, May 10. May 10 is heavily constrained because the vehicle was already reported back in the Edmonton area that day. There are similar constraints on the vehicle leaving Vancouver Island on May 7 because that is the day the vehicle arrived there. In my assessment, May 8 or May 9 appears more plausible, but this is an inference.
Several ferry routes could theoretically have been used to leave Vancouver Island, including Nanaimo (Departure Bay) to Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo (Duke Point) to Tsawwassen. Other, less likely possibilities also exist, like the island-hopper route from Crofton to Tsawwassen via Salt Spring Island. Also, there is a route from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert. The publicly available case information does not identify the ferry terminal or sailing used by the vehicle.
Speculation: In my opinion, if the driver was intentionally choosing less direct routes, it would be premature to assume that the most geographically efficient ferry route was used. The unusual mainland route described above is one reason the precise ferry route should not be assumed without additional evidence.
It is also important not to confuse the vehicle's movements with Natanis's whereabouts. The fact that the Tucson reached Vancouver Island and subsequently returned to Alberta does not establish that Natanis accompanied it on either journey.
What Is Known — and What Remains Unknown
- Natanis was captured on surveillance footage at the 7-Eleven at approximately 2:55 a.m. on May 5, 2025.
- Her vehicle was subsequently observed in multiple locations across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
- The vehicle travelled by ferry to Nanaimo on May 7.
- Between May 7 and May 10 inclusive, the vehicle took a ferry off of Vancouver Island.
- The vehicle was back in the Edmonton area on May 10.
- The vehicle was observed west of Lloydminster on May 12.
- The vehicle was found abandoned on James Smith Cree Nation on May 15. It had been repainted and was now silver.
- The public timeline does not establish who was driving the vehicle during its later movements.
- The public timeline does not establish Natanis's whereabouts after her last confirmed surveillance sighting.
- The exact method investigators used to reconstruct every vehicle sighting has not been publicly explained in the sources cited here.
Hotels in Nanaimo: Call to Action for Employees
In my opinion, a possible lead may still exist in Nanaimo. People who work at budget hotels or motels may wish to check whether their property recorded the Saskatchewan licence plate belonging to Natanis Merasty's 2007 Hyundai Tucson around May 7th, 8th, and 9th, in 2025. If the plate appears in a registration card, parking or vehicle record, then that information could potentially help establish where the Tucson was during its time on Vancouver Island. Any potentially relevant record should be preserved and handled delicately rather than altered or discarded, and provided directly to the appropriate investigators.Registration cards and similar documents may contain personal information, so they should not be photographed, published online or shared publicly; they should be handled confidentially and turned over to investigators through an appropriate channel.
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| This is a still of the actual vehicle. Plate appears to say 286 NTX. Taken from APTNNews. |
Case Information
- Canada's Missing case reference: 2025024076
- Edmonton Police Service case: CA250409080
- Missing from: Edmonton, Alberta
- Last confirmed sighting: Monday, May 5, 2025
- Reported missing: Friday, May 9, 2025
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