This past weekend my family and friends took a ski trip to Mount Tremblant, which is one of my favourite ski resorts because of the gorgeous village. There is something there for everyone between the shops, restaurants, nightlife, spas, and of course, the skiing.
Upon our arrival, just outside our hotel, I noticed police vehicles and a small crowd of people around tables set up spreading awareness for their missing son, 22-year-old Liam Toman.
I spoke with friends of the family who told us his story and informed us that they are here on the year mark of his disappearance to continue to spread awareness in hopes of finding Liam. The family is asking that anyone who was there on that weekend last year check their photos to see if there is any clue as to where he could be.
One year ago, Liam was in Tremblant with two of his friends for the weekend. They spend the night out for dinner and at a popular nightclub called Le P’tit Caribou. His friend had lost track of him in the bar and left to go back to the hotel around 2:30AM. Liam was seen on various security cameras leaving the Caribou shortly after 3AM on February 2nd, 2025, walking towards his hotel. But instead of entering the hotel, he is last seen pointing in the opposite direction, walking away, and then never again. It wasn’t until the snow thawed in the spring that his wallet was found in a parking lot close to where he was staying with his key card and ID.
His disappearance was strange and uncharacteristic. The area near the resort has been extensively searched but still nothing. For more details on the story CBC’s The Fifth Estate has a good episode on this.
His disappearance is one of many. In 2018 Ryan Shtuka (20m) went missing from Sun Peaks ski resort in BC after leaving a part around 2:30AM. His story is similar. Despite police searches and his determined family, he has yet to be found seven years later. While many only conspirators will tell you these disappearances are related I’d argue that it is frankly irrelevant.
I write this not to spread conspiracy but rather awareness of the importance of staying safe and being aware of your surroundings. As university students, many of us can relate to the sentiment of walking home after a late night of partying out with friends. It is easy to be comfortable walking home from the bars we routinely visit that are sometimes just minutes away from home or on ritzy ski resorts but it is so important to walk home with your friends. Between the human trafficking that persists in Canada and the risk of drunkenly misstepping off your route, take this story as a reminder that even in the friendliest of villages unexpected tragedies are not impossible.