Nearly twelve months have passed since Liam Gabriel Toman, a bright and energetic 22-year-old from Ottawa, stepped out of Le Shack bar at Mont-Tremblant Resort on the snowy night of January 31, 2025—and never came back.

What should have been a carefree weekend of snowboarding, laughter, and après-ski drinks with friends has become one of Quebec’s most haunting and perplexing missing-persons cases. Today, on the grim anniversary, Liam remains missing. No body. No definitive evidence. No closure. Yet the search refuses to fade, fueled by a family’s relentless determination, a still-active $50,000 reward, and fresh pleas from investigators for anyone who was in Tremblant that weekend to dig through their phones.

Liam Gabriel Toman was the kind of young man who radiated warmth and possibility. At just 22, he was already carving out a promising future as a freelance graphic designer and digital illustrator while studying part-time at Carleton University. Tall, athletic, with an infectious smile, tousled dark hair, and a quick laugh, Liam had a natural charisma that drew people in. Friends describe him as adventurous yet kind-hearted—the guy who would plan epic group trips but always made sure everyone felt included and safe. That winter weekend he had driven up from Ottawa with three close friends for what was meant to be a perfect escape: two days of fresh powder on the slopes followed by nights of music, cold beer, and the electric atmosphere of Mont-Tremblant’s après-ski scene.

Everything changed around 11:15 p.m. on Friday, January 31.

Le Shack, the legendary après-ski bar with its roaring fireplace, exposed wooden beams, and thumping music, was packed wall-to-wall that night. Witnesses say Liam had been in high spirits, chatting animatedly with strangers, dancing to the live band, and sharing laughs over pitchers of beer. But as the evening wore on, a confrontation erupted at the bar.

Jacques Lefebvre, a bartender who has worked at Le Shack for over a decade, provided one of the most detailed accounts to date. “It started over something trivial—a spilled drink, maybe a bumped shoulder,” Lefebvre told investigators and later recounted in an exclusive interview. “But it escalated fast. The other guy was big, tattooed, wearing a black Tremblant hoodie. He got in Liam’s face, words turned ugly, and suddenly they were shoving each other hard. Liam pushed back—he wasn’t going to back down. Security jumped in, separated them, and told both to cool off. The other guy just laughed it off and stayed with his friends. Liam, though—he looked furious. He grabbed his jacket, said something like ‘This isn’t over,’ and stormed out the side door into the snow.”

Two other patrons, who asked to remain anonymous, corroborated the story. One of them, a 45-year-old man from Toronto visiting for the weekend, added a chilling detail: “The guy Liam fought with seemed to know the staff. He was treated like a regular. After Liam left, the guy stayed another hour, buying rounds for his buddies and acting like nothing happened.”

Surveillance footage from Le Shack captured the altercation but offers no clear view of the aggressor’s face. Investigators have identified the man through other means and interviewed him multiple times. He insists it was “just a misunderstanding” and claims he never left the bar that night. Police have not yet named him publicly, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.

Liam’s friends, who had been at a different table, noticed his absence around midnight. They searched the bar, the surrounding patios, the nearby paths leading to the parking lots and pedestrian village. Nothing. His phone, last pinged at 11:22 p.m. near the bar, went dark shortly afterward. Credit cards, bank accounts, social media—silent ever since.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) quickly classified the disappearance as suspicious and launched a major criminal investigation. Ground searches, drone sweeps, cadaver dogs, and divers in the frozen lakes and rivers around the resort turned up nothing. Tips flooded in after a widely watched documentary aired last fall, but so far none have led to a breakthrough.

Kathleen Toman, Liam’s mother, sat down for a rare and emotional interview with CBC News last week. Her voice cracked as she spoke: “We are just at a loss. Every day we wake up hoping today will be the day we get answers. We still believe he’s out there somewhere, or that someone knows what happened. We’re begging anyone who was in Tremblant between January 31 and February 2, 2025—check your photos, check your videos. Even a blurry background shot could be the key.”

The family has also intensified pressure on Mont-Tremblant Resort to upgrade security measures. In an open letter published last month, they called for more cameras in parking areas, better lighting on pedestrian paths, and mandatory ID checks at busy bars during peak season. Resort management responded by saying they are “reviewing all protocols” and cooperating fully with police, but no major changes have been publicly announced.

The $50,000 reward offered by the family and private donors remains in effect until May 20, 2026. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Sûreté du Québec at 1-800-659-4264 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.

Behind the headlines and the reward posters lies a family in limbo. Liam’s younger sister, Emily, has become the public face of the campaign, posting regular updates on social media and organizing annual candlelight vigils in Ottawa and Tremblant. “We refuse to let this go cold,” she said in a recent video. “Someone saw something. Someone knows something. We just need that one person to come forward.”

As winter once again blankets Mont-Tremblant, the slopes are alive with skiers and snowboarders, laughter drifts from the same bars, and life appears unchanged. Yet for the Toman family, every fresh snowfall feels like another layer covering the truth.

One year on, the question remains as raw and urgent as the night Liam vanished: What really happened after Liam Gabriel Toman walked out of Le Shack into the cold Quebec night?

The investigation continues. The reward stands. And a family waits—still hoping, still searching, still refusing to give up.