On the last day Leslie Widynowski was seen, cooking books sprawled across the kitchen in her secondary home in Arizona - the place she escapes to during Edmonton's winter months.

For this reason when her husband Ken came home from golfing on the morning of December 2nd, he figured his wife had just popped out to the store to grab something for a recipe.

"That's unlike her to leave without a note so our assumption... is that she thought she'd leave and be back before him, he wouldn't even know that she left the house," said Widynowski's daughter Leann Hansen.

But the 63-year-old who's called our city home for the past 22 years has yet to return, and her family is getting increasingly worried.

"Nobody saw her leave the house, nobody's had any contact with her. [We] can't find the vehicle, can't find her," said Hansen.

"We don't know what's happened."

It's believed Widynowski only had Canadian identification and minimal funds on her when she left her home. Her passport, belongings and other travel documents are still at her house in Surprise, a subdivision of Phoenix, and there have been no transactions on her bank accounts.

An aerial search by helicopter and a ground search of medical facilities as well as homeless and women's shelters have failed to turn up leads, as have flyers plastered in her Arizona community. The family is hoping alerts issued to vehicle tow lots, highway patrols, hospitals and both the Canadian and Mexican borders will turn up new information.

But Hansen says as time elapses her father increasingly wrestles with despair over what happened to his wife of 42 years.

"Each day it's becoming harder and much more of a struggle for him to stay positive. We're really trying to keep his positive spirits up there and let him know that we will find her.

"We will find her, that is our mission."

Besides a bout with the flu, Widynowski was said to be healthy and in good spirits the week she disappeared. She was set to fly to Edmonton on December 15th for the Christmas holidays, and is due for a birthday at the end of the month.

Police are asking the public to keep a lookout for a woman matching the following description:

  • 5'2"

  • 115 - 125 lbs.

  • Light brown hair and hazel eyes

    Anyone with information is asked to call Surprise police at 623-222-4000.

    With Files from CTV's Erin Isfeld