Nearly a year after 23-year-old Vanessa Tolgien was found murdered inside an abandoned warehouse near North Alder’s industrial park, her killer remains at large — and her family is still searching for answers.

“He destroyed our family,” Vanessa's mother, Diane Tolgien, told The Herald Chronicle in an emotional interview this week. “I don’t care what happens to him anymore. I just want to know why. I just want him to stop running.”

Vanessa's body was discovered on April 2 last year, tucked behind a pile of broken shelving inside the disused Fenmore Agricultural Supply Depot. A local scrap metal worker entered the warehouse to salvage copper wiring when he made the grim discovery.

Police say the scene contained signs of a prolonged struggle, and investigators recovered fragments of what they believe to be written messages or drawings left by someone stalking Vanessa in the weeks leading up to her death. Authorities have not released the contents publicly but confirmed they are treating the case as a targeted killing.

Despite multiple appeals and the circulation of surveillance footage from nearby businesses, police say they have no leads. Detective Sergeant Ray Tench of the North Alder Rural Crime Unit urged the public to come forward. “We need the community’s help. Someone knows something. Even the smallest piece of information could be critical.”

Vanessa had recently returned to Alder Ridge after studying animal sciences in Bellington. Her family say she had plans to start a sanctuary on her late uncle’s land.

“She loved animals more than anything,” Diane said, holding a photo of Vanessa cradling a piglet on the family’s property. “She was kind. She was just starting her life.”

Local residents have expressed growing frustration over the lack of resolution in the case, with online petitions and community-led search groups keeping attention on the investigation.

“I want people to remember her for who she was,” Diane added. “Not the monster who took her away.”