We're running out of time. This is our week to find them.
Two weeks after Greater Sudbury city councillor Michael Vagnini, 62, vanished on a winter evening in late January, the silence around his disappearance has driven those closest to him toward an ancient human impulse: seeking answers where reason has not yet reached. Friends held a public press conference on February 12, announcing they had consulted two psychics who envisioned Vagnini sheltering in a barn or garage near a church in Ward 4 — even as police evidence suggests he may have traveled far beyond the region. It is a story as old as grief itself: when the known world offers no comfort, people reach toward the unknown.
- A city councillor has been missing for over two weeks with no public breakthrough, and the people who love him are running out of patience and hope.
- In an unusual press conference held at the very corner where Vagnini was last photographed, two friends went public with visions from unnamed psychics — bypassing police entirely before alerting investigators.
- The psychics' claim that Vagnini is hiding nearby in a barn or garage near a church directly contradicts a police lead: his truck's Sirius XM system was accessed hours after he vanished, suggesting he may have left the region.
- Forensic experts warn that psychics historically offer no meaningful help in criminal investigations, with one OPP psychiatrist noting they tend to emerge whenever a case draws media attention.
- The community is now being urged to check barns and garages across the Sudbury District, as friends frame this week as a last resort — while police continue following their own leads and asking anyone with information to call a dedicated tip line.
Michael Vagnini, a 62-year-old city councillor for Ward 2 in Greater Sudbury, was last seen on the evening of January 27, driving his black Ram 1500 truck westbound on McCharles Lake Road near Whitefish and Naughton. He was wearing a bright yellow hoodie and green pants. Despite a national police bulletin and extensive local searches, two weeks passed without a public breakthrough.
On February 12, two of Vagnini's closest friends — former mayoral candidate Bob Johnston and adviser Tom Price — held a press conference in the parking lot where Vagnini had been photographed the day he disappeared. They revealed they had consulted two psychics, neither named nor paid, who independently described Vagnini as hiding in a barn or vacant garage somewhere in the Sudbury District, possibly in Ward 4, near a church whose bell rings once a day.
When asked why they went public before briefing police, Johnston was blunt: "We're running out of time." He and Price were careful not to criticize investigators, framing their effort as a parallel act of love for someone they described as a brother. Johnston appealed directly to the community to check their outbuildings and think creatively.
Police responded with measured caution. A spokesperson noted that all tips had been followed up by detectives, and pointed to a significant lead of their own: Vagnini's Sirius XM system was accessed at 2:45 a.m. on January 28 — hours after he vanished — suggesting he may have left the region entirely, a detail that sits in direct tension with the psychics' vision of a man hiding close to home.
Experts in criminal behaviour have long observed that high-profile disappearances attract psychic involvement, and have found it consistently unhelpful. Still, Johnston and Price remained committed to the idea that community action — checking barns, checking garages, thinking beyond the obvious — might open a door that conventional investigation had not. Vagnini had no phone when he disappeared. Police continued to ask anyone who had spoken with him before January 27 to contact their dedicated tip line.
Two weeks had passed since Michael Vagnini, a city councillor representing Ward 2 in Greater Sudbury, vanished on January 27. The 62-year-old was last seen driving a black 2021 Ram 1500 truck westbound on McCharles Lake Road between Whitefish and Naughton at around 5:40 p.m. that Saturday evening. He wore a bright yellow hooded sweater, green pants, and black running shoes. His truck had a broken passenger-side tail light. Since then, despite extensive local searches and a national police bulletin, there had been no public breakthrough in the case.
On February 12, as frustration mounted, Bob Johnston—a former mayoral candidate and friend of Vagnini's—and Tom Price, described as Vagnini's adviser, held a press conference in a parking lot at the corner of York and Paris Streets, the very spot where Vagnini had been photographed the day he disappeared. They announced they had consulted two psychics to help locate the missing politician. The psychics, whom Johnston and Price declined to name, had not been paid for their work. Both had offered visions of where Vagnini might be found: hiding in a barn or vacant garage somewhere in the Sudbury District, possibly in Ward 4, near a church with a bell that rings once daily. One psychic provided a description of the location; the second offered what Johnston and Price characterized as a corroborating vision.
When asked why they had chosen to hold a public press conference before briefing police, Johnston's answer was direct: "We're running out of time." He acknowledged that police had their hands full and that he and Price wanted to do their part for someone who was "like a brother to us." The two weeks and two days that had elapsed felt like an eternity. Price added that they were not criticizing police work, only trying to help where they could. Johnston made an appeal to the community: "Let's check our barns, let's check our garages. Let's think outside the box, let's think for Michael. This is the last resort. This is our week to find them."
The Greater Sudbury Police Service responded cautiously. Spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn noted that any information received through 911, the non-emergency line, or the tip line had been followed up by detectives. Police had their own leads. On January 28, seven or eight hours after Vagnini was last seen, his truck's Sirius XM system had been accessed at 2:45 a.m. Police interpreted this as a possible indicator that Vagnini may have left the region entirely—a conclusion at odds with the psychics' claim that he remained hidden nearby.
The turn to psychic consultation sits uneasily within modern criminal investigation. Dr. Peter Collins, an operational forensic psychiatrist with the Ontario Provincial Police's Criminal Behaviour Analysis Section and a member of the Toronto Police Service's crisis negotiation team, has observed this pattern repeatedly. In a 2021 article for Blue Line, a Canadian law enforcement publication, he wrote that whenever high-profile cases attract media attention, "psychics start crawling out of the woodwork." In his three decades of experience, he found them unhelpful. Yet Johnston and Price remained undeterred, convinced that community participation—checking barns, checking garages, thinking creatively—might succeed where conventional investigation had stalled.
Vagnini had no phone with him when he disappeared. Police asked anyone who had spoken with him in the days before January 27 and had not yet contacted investigators to call a dedicated tip line at 705-675-9171, extension 2320. The case remained open, the councillor's fate unknown, and the community was now being asked to look in unexpected places.
Citações Notáveis
We're running out of time. Police have enough to do, and we wanted to do our part.— Bob Johnston, friend of Vagnini
Over the past three decades, whenever high-profile cases attract media attention, psychics start crawling out of the woodwork. In my experience, they aren't helpful.— Dr. Peter Collins, Ontario Provincial Police forensic psychiatrist
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did Johnston and Price feel compelled to go public with the psychic information rather than just passing it to police quietly?
They were desperate. Two weeks with no public movement in the case—that's a long time when someone you care about has vanished. Going public was a way to mobilize the community, to make people feel like they could actually do something. Johnston said it plainly: "Are we gonna sit back and wait for the police?"
But police had already found something—the Sirius XM access suggesting he left the region. Doesn't that contradict the psychics' claim that he's hiding locally?
It does, which is the real tension here. Police have a concrete data point; the psychics have a vision. One points outward, one points inward. Johnston and Price chose to trust the vision and ask the community to search anyway.
What does it say about a case when friends resort to psychics?
It says the official investigation has hit a wall that feels impenetrable from the outside. When you love someone and conventional channels seem to be moving too slowly or in the wrong direction, you reach for anything that might help. It's not rational, but it's human.
Do you think the community will actually check their barns and garages?
Some will. Johnston's appeal was direct and emotional. But most people won't. The psychic information is vague—a barn or garage near a church in Ward 4. That could describe dozens of places. Without specificity, it's hard to act on.
What happens if nothing comes from this?
The case stays cold. Vagnini remains missing. And Johnston and Price will have to live with the fact that they tried everything they could think of, including the things experts say don't work.