Calgary police ask public to search their properties for missing 11-year

Calgary police ask public to search their properties for missing 11-year-old boy

Parker was last seen in the Thorncliffe neighbourhood on Thursday

Calgary police expanded search efforts for a missing 11-year-old boy to the entire city on Friday afternoon, asking members of the public to search their property.

On Thursday, Calgary police asked northwest Calgary residents, particularly in and around the Cambrian Heights neighbourhood, for help searching for the missing boy, named Parker.

Police expanded the search area to more neighbourhoods on Friday morning, before later asking the entire city to search for the boy.

Calgary police acting Staff Sgt. Scott Guterson asked the public on Friday afternoon to check their yards, garages, open vehicles, RVs, sheds, pools or anywhere else a child could go.

“It is unusual that he has not been found yet, which is again why we are asking for that community help,” Guterson said.

Guterson advised the public that if they come across Parker, they should not engage him, but instead call police. He said they believe the boy is non-verbal, and gets agitated when strangers approach him.

Police are also asking anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage of Parker to contact them.

He was last seen shirtless, wearing grey shorts, black Skechers shoes and black noise-cancelling headphones.

After he was seen Thursday at his day home in the 0 to 100 block of Connaught Drive N.W. between 11:08 and 11:41 a.m., the boy was last seen in the Thorncliffe neighbourhood between 12:30 and 1 p.m. on Thursday, Guterson said.

He’s four feet 11 inches tall and weighs approximately 90 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Guterson said Parker is autistic and functions at a two- or three-year-old level.

Clothing that’s believed to belong to Parker was found at noon Thursday in the 0 to 100 block of Northmount Drive N.W., police said.

Calgary police told the public they may see search teams, including an air support unit, mounted patrol team, mountain bike unit, canine unit and ground search teams, in the area Friday.

"Essentially any available resource that CPS has, we have devoted them to this search," said Guterson.

Guterson said police know the boy likes water and part of their search has been to check whether he's near bodies of water.

Mark Demong, the senior search manager for the Calgary Search and Rescue Association, said his organization was called out for assistance on Thursday night, and that 34 members from Calgary were looking for the boy with police until 3:30 a.m. Friday.

The team is searching again Friday, with assistance from Cochrane, Badlands and Foothills search and rescue groups.

“This is an all-hands-on-deck kind of search,” Demong said.

“It’s going to be as simple as we’re now going to do door-knocks and searching backyards and alleys.”

The missing case does not meet the threshold for an Amber Alert, police said, because they do not believe foul play is involved. But they noted they are working with the Missing Children’s Society of Canada to issue an alert to help locate Parker.

Police added they do not believe anyone is involved in Parker's disappearance.

“Every indication we have is that this is an 11-year-old child who functions at a diminished capacity and he has simply wandered off," said Guterson.

Police are asking anyone with information about Parker's location, or who may have CCTV or dashcam footage, to call 403-266-1234 or reach the police's evidence submission portal.

Andrew Jeffrey is a multimedia journalist with CBC Calgary. He previously worked for CBC News in his hometown of Edmonton, reported for the StarMetro Calgary, and worked as an editor for Toronto-based magazines Strategy and Realscreen. You can reach him at andrew.jeffrey@cbc.ca.