Nanaimo RCMP say missing 65-year-old Sherry Shelley was found dead following a car fire last month and are now investigating the case as a homicide.

In a news release Tuesday, investigators issued a plea to drivers and homeowners to help piece together Shelley’s final movements.

Shelley was last seen Nov. 13. In the early hours of Nov. 14, officers responded to a vehicle fire in a wooded area off College Drive near Highway 19, where they found her deceased.

Police have now confirmed the victim was Shelley and say their Serious Crime Unit has been “working diligently to bring justice to the family.”

Investigators are focusing on the movements of her white 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan with B.C. licence plate WN7 01L, and are appealing for dashcam and surveillance video from late Nov. 13 into the early morning of Nov. 14.

A white Volkswagen Tiguan similar to the one driven by Sherry Shelley is shown in this image provided by Nanaimo RCMP.

They’re asking residents and drivers to review footage between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. over those days along the following possible routes:

From the Doumont area to College Drive via the Nanaimo Parkway

From the Doumont area to College Drive via Jingle Pot Road

From Harwood Drive in Lantzville, along Old Logging Road to Vipond Road

Shelley’s disappearance was first described as “highly suspicious” after she was last heard from on Nov. 13. Family members said she had been texting from the Walmart in north Nanaimo that evening, and posts on social media claimed some of her belongings were later found scattered along Old Logging Road in Lantzville.

Police previously said they believed she had been in the area between Walmat and Old Logging Road overnight between Nov. 13 and 14, and that was likely with her Tiguan at the time.

Forensic investigators were later seen searching a property at College Drive and the Nanaimo Parkway, though RCMP declined to comment then on how that activity was connected to the case.

Neighbours have described Shelley as a longtime downtown Nanaimo resident with “a heart of gold” who often kept clothing and blankets in her car to give to people experiencing homelessness.

Anyone with dashcam video that shows a vehicle matching Shelley’s Tiguan, or anything else unusual along the specified routes between 11 p.m. Nov. 13 and 3 a.m. Nov. 14, is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP’s non-emergency line at 250-754-2345 and reference file 2025-36216.