Charges withdrawn against Ottawa-area woman whose daughter disappeared in 2012

Shelley Fillipoff says she's"elated" that a string of drug and weapons charges against her have been dropped and that she can now refocus entirely on finding her daughter who vanished nearly four years ago.

• Shelley Fillipoff, mother of missing woman, blames son for cocaine, weapons found in her home
• Finding Emma: Mom searches for answers in daughter's disappearance

The charges against theOttawa-area mother, whohas been the public face of a campaign to find her daughter Emma, were withdrawn Wednesday afternoon in a Perth, Ont., courtroom, her lawyer Trevor Brown confirmed toCBC News.

When the criminal charges were initially laid in 2015, Fillipoff saidshe found herself targeted online.

"It did take away a lot of my energy, obviously, so I had to keep refocusing," Fillipoffsaid Wednesday.

"But what was problematic was that so many people turned their focus to me. They stopped focusing on Emma. They even used her page to make comments about me, and I found that very distressing. Emma's page is intended for Emma and Emma only and I found it wrong that people would do that."

Emma was 26 when she disappeared from Victoria on Nov. 28, 2012.CBC'sthe fifth estatecovered the case in 2014.

Fillipoffsaid she has "no idea in the world" where herdaughter could be, but she tries to remain hopeful that a new tip will help her be found alive.

"She could be anywhere," she said. "As we approach the fourth year anniversary I don't feel as confident that she is alive, to be honest. I'm finding it harder and harder to retain that hope."

Charges withdrawn

Ontario Provincial Police saidcocaine, marijuana, bundles of cash, a sawed-off shotgun, a double-barrelshotgun, ammunition and a switchblade were seized from her home inLanarkCounty, southwest of Ottawa,during raids in 2015.

Fillipoffwas charged with laundering the proceeds of crime, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, marijuana possession, unauthorized possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm, and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

The chargeswere laid after a months-long policeinvestigation into her son, real-estate agent MatthewFillipoff, whom the OPP allege was supplying cocaine to street-leveltraffickers inLanark County.

Earlier this year, Fillipoff toldThe Night TimePodcastthat her son had been using her home as a "stash house for cocaine" without her knowledge.

Fillipoff refused to discuss her comments on the podcastwith CBC News, but she saidshe immediately thought of her daughter when the charges were withdrawn.

"I like to think that wherever Emma is, she made it happen," she said.

Last phone call

ShelleyFillipoff remembers the last time she spoke to her daughter a phone call on the morning of her disappearance.

In the days leading up to that phone call, she saidEmma had called "in a great deal of distress" to askher to come from Ontario to B.C. help her move, then abruptlychanged her mind, chalking up her earlier request to "a bad day."

My gut told me things were more serious than she was letting on because she wasn't really telling me what was wrong.- ShelleyFillipoff

"Don't come, mom. Not today," she said Emma told her on the morning of Nov. 28, 2012.

Fillipoff said she was worried after finding out her daughter was staying ata women's shelter. Sheflew to Victoria to check in but never found her.

"My gut told me things were more serious than she was letting on because she wasn't really telling me what was wrong. You could tell she was just in distress. She was distraught," she said.

The young woman was last seen speaking to two police officers outside Victoria'sFairmontEmpress Hotelon Nov. 28, 2012.

Earlier in the day, she'd purchased a pre-paid cell phone and a pre-paid credit card from a 7-Eleven store.

'Please come forward'

EmmaFillipoffhas been "all over the place," studyingphotojournalism in Belleville, Ont., teaching English in China and studying to become a chef inCampbell River, B.C., before moving to Victoria to work as a chef, her mother said.

Fillipoffsaid her daughter is "like a chameleon" with her changes in hairstyles and said the campaign to find her includes many different photographs.

"She puts that long hair of hers up and she looks like one person. She lets it down, she looks like another person. She cuts her bangs she looks like another person. Her look changes radically in a lot of the photographs," she said.

"If someone does know something, please, please come forward. And let us know she's okay."