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Two arrested in suspicious disappearance of missing Halifax student Loretta Saunders

Halifax police arrested two suspects and handed them over to the Millbrook RCMP.

The disappearance of a missing pregnant Halifax student is now being considered suspicious after police located the woman's missing car and arrested two people in Ontario on Wednesday.

Loretta Saunders was reported missing to Halifax police on Feb. 17 after falling out of contact with her family and friends a few days earlier. On Wednesday, Halifax police announced the arrest of two Ontario residents as part of their investigation.

The pair, a 25-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman were arrested after the woman's car was found in Harrow, Ont., not far from the U.S. border to Detroit. According to Halifax police, the pair is now in the custody of Ontario Provincial Police on charges of possessing a stolen vehicle as well as outstanding warrants.

Saunders, meantime, remains missing.

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Saunders, originally from Newfoundland, is a student at Saint Mary's University in Halifax. In a dark turn to the case, Saunders’s sister identified her as an Inuk studying missing and murdered aboriginal women.

A Facebook page titled "Help Bring Loretta Saunders Home" passed 2,000 members on Wednesday as the community gathered and shared information about the case.

Saint Mary's University, meantime, is appealing for help in the search, posting a series of tweets with the hashtag #findloretta.

Police previously said Saunders was last seen on Feb. 13 - four days before she was reported missing. She was last in contact with friends online on February 14 and has not been online since that time, which is considered out of character for her.

Her brother, Edmond, told CTV News that she sent her boyfriend a message claiming she had locked herself out of online banking and needed help remembering a password.

Saunders is described as 5’7”, 120 lbs with light brown straight hair. The search for her continues.