THUNDER BAY — City police are continuing to search for a 65-year-old man whose last confirmed sighting was in late November.
In a Thursday update, the Thunder Bay Police Service said Joseph Alexander Lawson, commonly known as Alex, was last seen on Nov. 27, 2022, in the 200 block of Madeline Street. Police said other possible sightings indicate he may have been seen since that date in the area of city hall, but those reports are unconfirmed.
Det. Insp. Jeremy Pearson with the Thunder Bay Police Service said Lawson's family and community are growing increasingly concerned for his welfare.
"That timeline for a missing person is a concern to us and to the family and community," he said. "For that reason, we are asking once again for public assistance and try to bring Mr. Lawson to the awareness of the public and community."
Pearson added that they have no confirmed information that Lawson has left the city, but they are working with other police services regarding any possible sightings outside of Thunder Bay.
A community search is being organized and Pearson said police will be conducting drone searches in the downtown areas of the city.
"The primary factor for our concern is the duration from when he was last seen and the absence of contact with family," Pearson said. "We need right now to narrow a starting point for an appropriate search."
Lawson is described as an Indigenous man with a dark complexion, standing about five-foot-nine and weighing 140 pounds with a medium build, with long and straight grey hair, usually with facial hair, and has brown eyes.
He was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, a light-coloured North Face puffer jacket with a dark upper area, blue jeans and black shoes
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
