Thunder Bay

Volunteers continue search for missing 65-year-old man in Thunder Bay

The family of a 65-year-old man who's been missing in Thunder Bay, Ont., for more than a month is asking people to keep an eye out for him as they travel around the city.

Last confirmed sighting of Joseph Alexander Lawson was Nov. 27 in Grandview area

A man and woman hold pieces of paper with the image of another man and the word missing printed on them.
Chris and Kimberly Lawson hold flyers with an image of their father, Joseph Alexander Lawson, who has been missing in Thunder Bay, Ont., for more than a month. Both are in the city from Lac Seul First Nation to assist in the search. (Kris Ketonen/CBC)

The family of a 65-year-old man who's been missing in Thunder Bay, Ont., for more than a month is asking people to keep an eye out for him as they travel around the city.

The last confirmed sighting of Joseph Alexander Lawson, commonly known as Alex, was on Nov. 27 on Madeline Street in the Grandview area.

However, Lawson's son, Chris Lawson, who's in Thunder Bay as part of a group from Lac Seul First Nation to help in the search, said his father was very mobile and travelled throughout the city.

"He does like to walk," Chris Lawson said. "That was something that he did on his own, is walk quite often.

"We've sent this out to all the townships in northwestern Ontario, especially in Sioux Lookout, Mishkeegogamang, Pickle Lake area," he said. "Those are places, too, that we think he could possibly show up."

"Right now people in those areas haven't seen him, or we haven't had any tips or information coming from those areas."

Chris Lawson said that in addition to the volunteers from Lac Seul, a group has come from Mishkeegogamang Ojibway First Nation to help with the search (he said Alex Lawson is a Lac Seul member, but grew up in the Mishkeegogamang area).

A photo of a man with long grey hair and a grey beard.
The last confirmed sighting of Joseph Alexander Lawson, 65, was on Nov. 27 in the Grandview area. (Thunder Bay Police Service/Provided)

Volunteers from Thunder Bay are also assisting.

On Monday, the search was concentrated on the city's north side, with volunteers handing out flyers bearing Alex's image.

Police, too, continue their search, with a spokesperson, saying the service's Emergency Task Unit, K-9 Unit, and drone have been involved.

"The message for the people in the city is help find Alex, help find our dad," Chris Lawson said. "If you see Alex ... we're asking that you stay with him and that you would call 911 or the Thunder Bay police."

Chris Lawson also had a message for his father: "Come home."

"We love him," he said. "We care about him, and we are thinking about him, and we just want him to be safe and sound and to come home."

"We just want him back."

Alex Lawson is described as an Indigenous male, about five feet six inches tall with a medium build.

He has long straight grey hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a black baseball cap, light-coloured North Face puffer jacket, blue jeans and black shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.