Missing teen could be buried under a garage, private investigator says - Sault Ste. Marie News

Missing teen could be buried under a garage, private investigator says - Sault Ste. Marie News

Missing teen could be buried under a garage, private investigator says
Nicoll Investigations has spoken with more than 60 people in hopes of locating Justin Pollari, who abruptly vanished from St. Joseph Island over 24 years ago

James Hopkin - SooToday

New leads have emerged in the investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a St. Joseph Island teen more than two decades ago.

Private investigator Jay Nicoll has been looking into the case of Justin Pollari, who was 14 when he went missing from Hilton Township in December 2001.

While Nicolls says the missing teen was deemed a runaway by police, new information he gleaned from over 60 individuals suggests locations where Pollari's remains could be potentially found — including a lake, a landfill site and a property where heavy construction equipment was stored. 

But a tip from one of Pollari’s stepbrothers has now led Nicoll to believe that his remains could possibly be buried beneath a garage that was being built on the island around the same time he went missing.
“It's coming back to this place as being pretty accurate — and it's certainly my No. 1 target at the moment,” said Nicoll, who is the sole proprietor of Nicoll Investigations, a private investigation and cold case firm based in Richmond Hill.   

The private investigator — who is also the podcaster behind the Ontario Cold Cases podcast — has managed to stitch together a timeline of events leading up to Pollari’s disappearance.

Nicoll says Pollari went to a local restaurant in Hilton Beach before going to a friend’s camp on the day he vanished.

That night, Pollari was at dance at the Hilton Beach Community Hall with a group of friends until his father forcibly removed him from the venue, according to information received by Nicoll.

The private investigator says it appears Pollari snuck back to the community hall, eventually getting a ride back home with a pair of individuals at some point that evening.

“They're the last ones, as far as I'm concerned, that saw Justin alive,” he said.

Nicoll noted that Pollari left behind money, clothing and a “skateboard that never left his side,” when he vanished from the island that night.

Based in Richmond Hill, Nicoll is raising funds through a GoFundMe campaign to cover costs for a trip to St. Joseph Island and Sault Ste. Marie, to continue his investigation on the ground and speak with people in person.

A key part of that investigation would be to speak with one of Pollari’s stepbrothers who has been feeding the private investigator information.

“He is currently in jail, and he will not talk to the police at all,” said Nicoll.

“This is why I'm kind of desperate to get out there to talk to him face-to-face, because he said he will speak to me."

Nicoll says most of the information he's received will eventually be submitted to Ontario Provincial Police. 

In the meantime, the private investigator is appealing to the public for any shred of information that could assist him in his investigation.

“Just write everything down,” Nicoll said. “I don't care if it's in a jumble and a complete mess and it's point form.

“Even the littlest things like that, just write them down because it corroborates something else a little bit later.”

Anyone with information can contact Nicoll by calling (289) 923-7302 or at jaynicoll@protonmail.com.
The public can also submit anonymous tips to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online via the P3 platform.