Community spirit, teamwork and a little mystery came together for a tremendous success as Habitat for Humanity Vancouver Island North brought back its annual Escape Room experience with an exciting new twist, Cold Case 913: The Emily Carter Investigation.

This year’s immersive experience welcomed an impressive 355 participants through the doors, all eager to put their detective skills to the test, follow the clues and solve a fictional cold case. More importantly, their participation helped raise an incredible $8,000 in support of Habitat for Humanity Vancouver Island North and its work in building stronger communities through affordable homeownership.

The theme, Cold Case 913: The Disappearance of Emily Carter, transported teams back to an unsolved mystery dating to 2004. Participants were challenged to investigate the disappearance of Emily Carter, examine newly discovered evidence, uncover hidden information and piece together a timeline before time ran out.

From searching through evidence and deciphering puzzles to connecting suspects, motives and timelines, the experience offered plenty of opportunities for teamwork, problem-solving and a healthy dose of suspense.

Congratulations go to this year's fastest team the "No Clue Crew" who successfully cracked the case in an incredible 17 minutes!

Beyond the puzzles, clues and competition, the event provided an opportunity to introduce more people to the work Habitat for Humanity VIN is doing right here in our community. Every participant helped contribute to the organization's mission of creating safe, decent and affordable homeownership opportunities for local families.

A heartfelt thank you goes out to everyone who attended, participated, volunteered and helped make this year's Escape Room such a success. A special thank you to our generous sponsors, United Rentals and Stonehouse Teas, whose support helped bring this fundraising experience to life!