Police are treating the death of a Calgary mother at her northwest home as a homicide and continue to search for her missing five-year-old daughter.

Sara Baillie, 34, was found in the basement suite of a home in the 1000 block of Panamount Boulevard N.W. on Monday after she failed to show up for work at a local restaurant and concerned family members went to check on her.

Police say her daughter, five-year-old Taliyah, was last seen at the home on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and they believe she was abducted.

An AMBER Alert was activated and friends and family held a press conference on Tuesday to plead for Taliyah’s safe return.

“We’ve lost a niece, a sister, a daughter and a mother within the last 12 hours, god rest her soul,’ said Baillie’s uncle, Scott Hamilton. “Please return her, drop her off at an RCMP station, CPS station or grocery store, gas station, wherever you want, contact the family we'll come and pick her up, they'll be no questions asked, we love her, we miss her, we want her back.”

Hamilton says Baillie was a hardworking, single mother who had the support of her family.

“Sara was a beautiful, young woman, who was single-handedly, pretty much, raising her daughter and we love her and we miss her,” said Hamilton. “Taliyah was Sara’s world, still is, Sara still lives with all of us.”

He says Taliyah and Sara were inseparable and had a close relationship.

“Sara worshipped Taliyah. The times that we saw them interact, it was marvelous,” he said. “It was a very awesome relationship to see between a mother and daughter.”

The police forensic unit has been at the northwest home since Baillie’s body was discovered and so far police are saying little about potential suspects.

“At this point, it’s still early in the investigation. We’re not ruling out anybody as a suspect and we’re looking at all avenues,” said Don Coleman, CPS Major Crimes Inspector. “Initially we look at everybody from family members on out. So, we’ve looked at and spoken to several family members and work our way through the investigation from there.”

Police say Taliyah’s estranged father, Colin Marsman, is cooperating with the investigation and that he and Baillie had a history of domestic violence.

“We’ve been in touch with him, we’ve spoken with him. He is cooperating in the investigation,” said Coleman.

Court documents obtained by CTV News show that Colin Marsman and Sara Baillie were in court over child support just last week.

CTV News has confirmed that Marsman was also out on a peace bond, which ended in March, after he allegedly confined and intimidated Baillie back in 2015.

Police are treating Baillie’s death as suspicious.

“We’ve been able to narrow our investigation, the focus of our investigation somewhat. We don’t have anybody in specifically identified yet in any role but there is, we’ve been able to narrow the focus a little bit,” said Coleman at a news conference on Wednesday.

A statement on behalf of Colin Marsman was sent to CTV News by Jessica Mardinger saying…

``I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone out there, including the media, and especially law enforcement, for their continued search for Taliyah. I also want to send my deepest condolences to Sara's family during this time.

``I want to make a plea to anyone out there who knows anything about where my baby is. Please, it's never too late to do the right thing! If you even think you might have seen something that could be a clue, let your local law enforcement know immediately.

``With all my heart, I love her so much; she is my light! Please allow her to come home to her family.

``Once again, I truly appreciate all the people who have shown support to our family and are praying for the safe return of Taliyah at this time. Those who know me best, know the person and kind of father I am and know more than anything I just want my baby girl back.

``Once again I plead for anyone knowing anything about where Taliyah is to please come forward with anything that will help get her home and back to her family.''

Police released CCTV footage from the weekend that shows Baillie and her daughter at a Dairy Queen on Sandarac Drive N.W. at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday. The footage appears to show Baillie talking to another family in the restaurant and police are hoping to identify to them.

“Sara appears to have known them. She came in, she waved, had a brief conversation on the way in, brief conversation on the way out so we believe they may have known them in some capacity,” said Coleman.

Investigators say people in the community saw a girl matching Taliyah's description on Monday at about 11:30 a.m. and say she was seen with a stocky, black male near the area where Baillie's car was found.

The girl was wearing red or pink boots with white polka dots and was carrying a reddish-coloured suitcase.

An autopsy was expected to be conducted on Baillie’s body on Tuesday but so far police have not released any details regarding the cause of death.

“Definitely believe it’s all connected. The autopsy was completed today, we’re waiting on results of that. There’s some things that’ll be able to help us move the investigation forward and everyday there’s going to be more that helps us move it forward so we’re still open and pursuing several investigative avenues,” said Coleman.

Anyone with information on the case or Taliyah's whereabouts is asked to call the Calgary Police Service non-emergency line at 403-266-1236 or the Amber Alert hotline at 403-53-AMBER (403-532-6237).


Court Documents Obtained by CTV News