Missing Nanaimo woman found dead, prompting homicide investigation

Nanaimo RCMP provided this photo of Sherry Shelley, who was last seen Nov. 13, 2025.

The case of a missing 65-year-old woman in Nanaimo is now a homicide investigation, police say.

Sherry Shelley was reported missing on Nov. 14, the same day Nanaimo RCMP officers responded to a report of a vehicle fire and found a woman deceased, the detachment said in a news release Tuesday, more than three weeks after the discovery.

The Nanaimo RCMP Serious Crime Unit is investigating Shelley’s death as a homicide and has been “working diligently to bring justice to the family,” according to the release.

The vehicle fire occurred in a wooded area of College Drive near its intersection with Highway 19 in the “early hours” of Nov. 14, police said. They’re asking residents of a few nearby areas to review dash cam and surveillance video in search of Shelley’s white Volkswagen Tiguan, which bore licence plate WN701L.

Anyone with video recorded along three possible routes between 11 p.m. Nov. 13 and 3 a.m. Nov. 14 should review it and contact police if they see a vehicle matching that description, police said.

The three routes are “from the Doumont area to College Drive via Parkway,” “from the Doumont area to to College Drive via Jingle Pot Road” and “from Harwood Road in Lantzville along Old Logging Road to Vipond Road,” according to police.

Anyone who recorded a vehicle matching the description of Shelley’s during the hours specified should call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345 and quote file number 2025-36216.