Girlfriend, brother plead for help to find missing man
CBC News | Posted: November 25, 2016 2:51 AM | Last Updated: November 25, 2016
Bryan Balong left home Tuesday without his shoes, keys or phone
A Winnipeg family is pleading for neighbours to help search for a boyfriend and father who has been missing since Tuesday.
Bryan Balong, 33, was last seen in the North End on Tuesday evening.
Stephanie Desjarlais, his girlfriend of seven years with whom he has two young daughters, has already notified police. She and his family are putting up posters, posting on Facebook and searching her neighbourhood to try to find him.
The group is searching West Kildonan, and Desjarlais is asking other people in the area to check their yards and garages, as well as people in the North End and near Scotia Street.
The family has already received some help from the Bear Clan Patrol, she said.
Desjarlais said Balong has recently battled stress and mental health issues and would occasionally step out to clear his head, but he would always call her or his family, or come back.
She said Balong seemed distraught when he left Tuesday without his shoes, keys or phone.
"This isn't like him," she said. "It's been almost three days now and it's not like him at all."
Desjarlais described Balong as kind and loving. Their daughters, five and two, are asking about him, she said.
"It's very surreal. Like his picture with the 'missing persons' above it ... I can't fathom how weird that looks, how it feels," she said. "It's just, he should not be that person. I never would have imagined him. He's such a sweet guy, sweet loving guy."
Balong's younger brother, Brad Balong, said the family has been searching tirelessly since he got the call from Desjarlais shortly after 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
That night, the group searched until around 5 a.m., he said.
"From then on, just, as soon as we hit daylight, we've got our map that we want to search and we just kept looking," Brad Balong said. He said he's concerned his brother might not want to be found and could be hiding.
"We've got ourselves a little command post there and we've highlighted exactly the areas that we've driven, where we've walked, where we need to go."
Brad Balong said his brother is gentle with a great sense of humour and "could make you laugh instantly." The two like to tease and trade barbs, he said, trying to come up with a better comeback than the last.
"I can't imagine not having that again for the rest of my life," he said.
"Just please keep looking. Look anywhere. Just look for us in your yard. That's all we can ask for the public."
Bryan Balong is five feet, 10 inches tall, has a medium build and black hair in a mohawk style. He was last seen wearing a grey Jordan sweatsuit.
Police are asking anyone with information to contact the Missing Persons Unit at 204-986-6250.