Stratford police offer $10K reward for help in finding Derek Ritz, last seen in 2016

Stratford police are offering a $10,000 reward for tips that could bring closure to the long-standing missing person's case of a Perth South man.

Derek Ritz was 51 years old when he was last seen at a residence in the Avonton Road area of Sebringville, Ont., a small town northwest of Stratford, in the early morning hours of Dec. 31, 2016.

He was reported missing to Perth County Ontario Provincial Police on Jan. 7, 2017. The case was eventually transferred to Stratford police in 2019.

Nine years after he was last seen, Stratford community members say they refuse to give up on the search for answers.

"People reach out to me all the time, telling me to keep fighting and to not give up, because this is what matters to them the most," said Shelly Smith, a Stratford resident who is close to Ritz's inner circle and has been campaigning to find him.

"They just want this solved," said Smith. "After nine years, it should be done and over with. It should be solved."

Stratford police said they have conducted an exhaustive investigation since taking on the case, interviewing more than a hundred potential witnesses and extensively searching various properties throughout the area.

"The recovery of Derek Ritz remains an utmost priority to the Stratford Police Service," Mark Taylor, the police service's acting deputy chief, said in a statement posted online on Friday, which also said police are offering a $10,000 reward for information that helps solve the case.

"We would like to provide closure to all who were close to Mr. Ritz, and recognize the impact his disappearance has had on the greater community."

Police describe Ritz as five feet 11 inches tall and 170 pounds. He had unkempt shoulder-length brown hair when last seen. He has brown eyes and a tattoo of a woman with a snake on his right forearm.

He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a dark-coloured shirt and a leather motorcycle jacket. Police say Ritz was known to frequent Sebringville and Stratford, usually travelling on foot between the two locations. He was possibly carrying an orange backpack.

The Stratford Police Service is urging anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to contact Det. Sgt. Mike Weyers at 519-271-4147, extension 8184, or to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).