Derek Ritz and the search for justice

2025-07-25

When we think of Stratford, we think of a charming Ontario town with beautiful parks, world renowned theatre productions, and one of the world’s biggest pop stars. But the town that has seen actors like Sir Alec Guinness, Maggie Smith, and Christopher Plummer grace its stages, also had a dark side. Like many Canadian towns and cities, it has its share of addiction issues. And in the mid-2000’s, it found itself in the throes of a serious methamphetamine problem. In fact, according to the RCM...

When we think of Stratford, we think of a charming Ontario town with beautiful parks, world renowned theatre productions, and one of the world’s biggest pop stars.

But the town that has seen actors like Sir Alec Guinness, Maggie Smith, and Christopher Plummer grace its stages, also had a dark side.

Like many Canadian towns and cities, it has its share of addiction issues. And in the mid-2000’s, it found itself in the throes of a serious methamphetamine problem.

In fact, according to the RCMP, two-thirds of the meth labs that were busted in Ontario in 2005 were in the Stratford area.

The drug trafficking scene can attract violent people and sometimes people get seriously hurt, or worse.

That’s what happened to Derek Ritz, who has been missing since New Year's Day of 2017.

On this episode of the 519 Podcast, we look into the disappearance of Derek Ritz, or as most knew him, Ritzy, and talk about what needs to be done to bring this case to a close.

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