Public help sought in search for missing man with dementia

The family of a 64-year-old man with dementia is pleading with the public to help, urging a close look at pictures of their loved one – as a search for him extends into its fourth day. Chris’s family also wants answers from the Saanich care facility he managed to walk away from Saturday night.

“My whole body is shaking,” says Chris’s niece Brittany Dube.

She was speaking to the CEO of Broadmead Care during an encounter outside Veteran’s Memorial Lodge, where she was putting up posters and distributing flyers in the area.

“I won’t sleep tonight until he’s found. At all. My body’s shaking. I’m so upset,” she says. “If he’s dead somewhere, it’s not good.”

Dube says she was notified on Saturday that her uncle Chris went missing from the facility. The 64-year-old was captured wearing a baseball cap, a winter coat with a Cleveland Browns logo and a Reebok backpack with a purple pattern.

“He got through the main pad door from his unit and then he actually just walked out the front door with the staff at the front desk, and he just walked right out,” Dube claims.

Broadmead Care says it’s "deeply concerned" about Chris’s safety and wellbeing, and working closely with law enforcement, Island Health and the family to support the search efforts.

“Please know we are there for them,” says CEO Derrick Bernardo. “We’re really looking at our cameras and analyzing how we could have prevented this from happening to other residents. And I know that our team and our operations team are looking at that at this time.”

Ongoing search

Peninsula Emergency Measures Organization (PEMO) Search and Rescue has a command station setup at PKOLS/Mt. Douglas Park.

Saanich police say the team is leading a search in the area after a credible sighting.

“They were deployed last night,” says Insp. Damian Kowalewich. “We are asking for the public to look at Christian’s photo. Be mindful if you see him, call us.”

Officers are also asking for homeowners south of PKOLS to check their security cameras starting on the evening of November 23 to see if they have any video of Chris (or, more formally, Christian) passing by.

Saanich resident Christian, who suffers from dementia, was last seen on Nov. 23, 2024. (Handout)

Police are specifically looking for people who might have video along Ash Road, Shelbourne Street and Cedar Hill Road.

“We will always look at the circumstances in which somebody went missing: The origin, their last known location. Right now, the priority is simply locating him,” says Kowalewich.

Family worry, activism

Brittany says she’s left with many questions around her uncle’s disappearance – and is increasingly worried.

She says he relies on medication for his wellbeing.

“It’s been four nights out in the cold. I don’t know if the end result is going to be OK,” she says.

Dube says her uncle likes to chat.

He’s spent most of his life living in the region. He’s familiar with Esquimalt’s Admirals area and likes Saanich’s Uptown neighbourhood too.

“He just might be really confused at this point,” she says.

Dube is asking everyone to keep an eye out – and consider passing any flyers they see on their car to the next one – awaiting a sight that’ll bring him home.