The hopes of family and friends that Holly Hamilton would be found alive came to a tragic end Wednesday, with the discovery of the 29-year-old woman’s body in her car in an east Hamilton parking garage.

The grim discovery at 95 Barlake Ave., near Barton Street East and Lake Avenue, came as loved ones were planning a search and poster campaign for the missing single mother, who was last seen alive Sunday night.

Hamilton’s body was found inside her 1996 white, four-door Ford Escort, which police had also been searching for since she was reported missing Monday.

Hamilton police homicide unit Staff Sgt. Dave Oleniuk confirmed Hamilton’s body had been found and that she is the city’s first homicide victim of 2018.

One man has been arrested in connection with her death, he said. But police have not yet released his name or any information on charges. That information is expected Thursday.

“We are sad to announce we have located the body of 29-year-old Holly Hamilton, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and everyone who (she) has touched,” Hamilton police spokesperson Const. Jerome Stewart later said at a brief news conference, adding that the many tips that came in from the public were very appreciated.

Detectives had been looking for Hamilton’s 30-year-old ex-boyfriend, including searching and canvassing in the neighbourhood around his Barton Street East and Fairfield Avenue North apartment, near Strathearne Avenue. The location is believed to be the last place Hamilton was seen.

The parking garage where her body and car were found is about four kilometres away.

Concerned family had reported Hamilton missing on Monday after she vanished Sunday night. She had told family she was going out to see a friend, but at some point was seen near her ex-boyfriend’s apartment.

He is the father of Hamilton’s young daughter, who is safely with her grandparents.

Police said there was a history of domestic violence in the relationship and the 30-year-old was “known to police.”

On the Facebook page Holly Hamilton Search Group, news of the Hamilton’s death was met with a flood of messages expressing devastation and condolences to the family. Later Wednesday night the group changed its name to In Memory of Holly Hamilton.

Family and friends had been organizing a search and poster campaign, with plans to meet at the FreshCo on Barton Street East and Strathearne Avenue before the news of her death was posted online. That turned into a vigil, not at FreshCo, but in front of a nearby apartment building.

Danyelle Smith, a longtime friend of Holly Hamilton, asked the 20 or so who gathered in a circle in the bitter cold at 6 p.m. to “hold hands so we can walk away and remember why we came here. Yes, to remember Holly, but also to stand up against abuse.”

Others spoke and candles were lit. “I didn’t fear the worst,” Smith said later, describing the energy when she and friends organized the search and poster campaign the previous night.

“We stayed up all night, we were so inspired to get the word out,” said Smith, who knew Hamilton from the time she was 12 or 13 and they both attended Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School. “We put up posters all over the city. I didn’t want to give up. It was so naïve of us but I thought we could find her vehicle. We drove to Binbrook, Ancaster, until 5 a.m.

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“It was such a shock to us to go from meeting at FreshCo for a search to RIP Holly vigil. I still don’t believe it. It’s a weird feeling, like it’s not real. I don’t know if I’m in reality right now.”

Exhaustion, grief and confusion vied with each other in Smith’s voice and face as she spoke but also there was a clarity of determination, about domestic violence and abuse.

“That’s what we need to stand up and talk out about,” she said. “We need solidarity as a community. I just don’t want to walk away (from the vigil) and say we just put candles out for Holly.” She hopes this inspires change.

Before news of hear death, friend Samantha Cartel said Hamilton would never have willingly left her daughter.

“Her daughter is her life, she would do anything for that little girl, and always make sure she is safe,” she said.

On Wednesday morning police were at the scene of the ex-boyfriend’s apartment, including forensic unit officers, from both Hamilton and Guelph police, and ACTION unit officers canvassing in the neighbourhood.

Neighbours in the Barton and Fairfield area said the 30-year-old had lived there in a basement apartment for less than a year, and described him as quiet. No one had seen Hamilton, her car or her young daughter.

A next-door neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said he was home Sunday night and can’t recall hearing anything from the 30-year-old’s apartment.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Rich Wouters at 905-546-4921. To provide information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

noreilly@thespec.com

With files from Jeff Mahoney