THUNDER BAY – A community effort to locate missing person Kacey Yellowhead continues, two weeks after the last confirmed sighting of the 25-year-old man from Eabametoong First Nation.
Those leading the search, including Yellowhead’s family members, are calling for volunteers as they expand grid searches around the East End neighbourhood where Yellowhead was last seen on Aug. 2.
Police continue to investigate his disappearance, and released some new information on the case late last week.
Yellowhead was last seen leaving the Casa Mia apartment building on Southern Avenue just after 9 p.m. on Aug. 2, apparently heading west toward the dead-end of Minnesota Street.
Friends and family members have been looking for him ever since, said brother Nathan Yellowhead.
They’ve received support from the Matawa tribal council, Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Eabametoong’s chief and council, and other community members, Nathan reported.
Several dozen people showed up Tuesday to the Slovak Legion on Atlantic Avenue, near where Yellowhead was last seen, to assist with the search.
“We’d like all the help we can get,” Nathan said.
Joe Missewace, who works with Matawa First Nations High School and is helping to coordinate the search efforts on behalf of the family, echoed the sentiment.
“We’ve had tremendous support from the community of Thunder Bay and NAN region… but we are looking for more helpers to assist with the ground search and on the waters also.”
Teams are conducting grid searches in the vicinity, combing wooded and grassy areas as well as waterways.
Those interested in volunteering can come to the rear of the Slovak Legion on Atlantic Avenue, where teams usually set up between 9 and 10 a.m.
Missewace said hopes of finding Kacey alive are fading with each passing day, but his loved ones remain resolute.
“It is tiring and grueling for a lot of us, especially the family members,” he said. “We need support for them.”
“But we’re remaining positive, and hoping the young fellow is okay. If anybody does know where he’s at, please inform us.”
Police also continue their efforts to located Yellowhead. The OPP will search the Neebing-McIntyre floodway with divers on Wednesday, Nathan said.
A Thunder Bay Police Service spokesperson said the force’s investigation remains active, with liaison officers with the Community Inclusion Team working with the family, and investigators continuing to review security footage they’ve requested from area property owners.
Police have previously sought to identify a woman Yellowhead was seen with on Aug. 2, and conducted a grid search in the area, including an aerial search with a drone.
Yellowhead is described as an Indigenous male standing about 5’6” with a thin build, a medium complexion, shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, and a red mark on his right cheek.
He was last seen wearing a black zip-up hoodie with white draw strings, charcoal grey shorts, and white socks.
Anyone with security surveillance systems in the area is urged to review footage from that time and call police at (807) 684-1200 about any possible sightings.
