'I do hope to find an answer': Son seeks closure decades after mom went missing in Calgary

The son of a woman who went missing in Calgary 30 years ago continues to hold out hope someone will come forward with information about her disappearance.

"Of course I do," Gia Buu Phan, who goes by Buu, told CTV News from his home in Toronto. "I do hope to find an answer."

Muoi Nguyen, also known as Ni, was a refugee from Vietnam who came to Calgary from Thailand in the mid 1980s. She was 29 years old when she was reported missing in Calgary in 1990.

Phan says he was seven years old when his mother disappeared and he was still living in Vietnam.

"I was supposed to go to Calgary with mom and dad, both of them, but she went missing and I end up with my dad only."

He later moved to Toronto to live with his dad in 1996 and now works as a technician.

His mother's disappearance wasn’t the only tragedy his family has suffered. He also had a sister who died in a pool accident in Calgary. He describes life not knowing his mother as "miserable" and hopes to one day learn what happened to her.

"If anyone has any information or know whereabouts my mom is please contact police and help me find her."

The Calgary Police Service missing persons team and Crime Stoppers continue to investigate Nguyen's disappearance.

“I think it’s important that families know we never give up on a missing person,” says Const. Evan Nelson with the CPS missing person and homicide unit.

He is looking for more family members to submit DNA to be entered into a new national database linking missing people with unidentified remains.

“There is a genealogy component to it where we need to get family members to submit DNA on behalf of that missing person. It’s our best point to link missing people with those unidentified human remains,” he said.

Nelson is also hopeful more loved ones will be more willing to come forward to speak to police, compared to when Nguyen was reported missing.

“A lot of people coming over at that particular time were reluctant to speak to police and hopefully we’ve gained some trust over the last 31 years and people will come forward with some information,” he said.

At the time of her disappearance, Nguyen worked at a coffee shop in downtown Calgary and a clothing store called La Quinta Fashions at 855 Second Street S.W. It was also reported Nguyen had ended a relationship with an intimate partner shortly before her disappearance.

Phan doesn't remember much about his mother but the few photos he has helps him remember her beauty. "I heard from my aunt she was a really good cook, she can cook really good food."

He hopes finding answers about his mother will give both himself and his dad some closure and urges anyone with even the smallest piece of information to contact police. 

Anyone with information about Nguyen's disappearance, or her movements any time after January 1990, is asked to call the Calgary Police Service at 403-266-1234 or the Calgary Police Service Missing Persons Tip line at 403-428-2250.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477 or online.