Family members of a 20-year-old who went missing in Sault Ste. Marie this weekend have taken to social media to confirm he has died after his body was discovered in the St. Marys River.
Colton Brown — a resident of Kasabonika Lake First Nation, a fly-in community 600 km north of Thunder Bay — had stopped in the Sault as part of an Ontario colleges field trip last week when he went missing near the Roberta Bondar Pavilion at around 4 a.m. Saturday.
The Sault Ste. Marie Police Service alerted the public of his disappearance shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
According to Facebook posts from Brown's loved ones, the news of his death was broken to them at some time before 7 p.m. today.
Brown's older sister Sharilyn also took to social media tonight and shared a photo of their parents standing along the St. Marys River near the area their son was discovered.
"They needed to know where he was found, so they went," she told SooToday. "My parents and three of my sisters and I went to check."
Sault Police issued a statement just before 8:15 p.m. tonight to say Brown "has been located and is no longer considered missing."
Police spokesperson Lincoln Louttit said that is all the information they have available at this time.
SooToday will continue to update this story as more details becomes available.
3:45 p.m. story:
The older sister of a 20-year-old who went missing early yesterday morning has shared new information and photographs of her brother to assist with an ongoing search in Sault Ste. Marie.
Colton Brown, a resident of Kasabonika Lake First Nation, was last seen around 4 a.m. on Saturday in the area of the Roberta Bondar Pavilion.
Speaking with SooToday over the phone this afternoon, his sister Sharilyn Anderson-Brown confirmed Colton was part of a field trip that was touring colleges all across Ontario this month.
Brown’s group arrived to the Sault last Thursday before they paid a visit to Sault College on Friday. They were staying at the Delta Hotel.
By the time the group woke up on Saturday morning, Brown was gone. It was his first time being in the Sault.
“I guess he took off one night and hasn’t been found since,” she said.
Anderson-Brown said their parents, siblings, and cousins are all incredibly anxious back home as it’s been 36 hours and counting since he was last seen.
His home in Kasabonika Lake First Nation is nearly 600 km north of Thunder Bay.
“He’s always kept in contact with everyone,” she said tearfully. “Our family and everyone is really worried back home. I think they’re trying to get a search team from back home to come up, too.”
While SooToday is awaiting an update from Sault Police, Anderson-Brown mentioned that officers have been patrolling the area. She noted they had a drone in the air today to assist with the search.
Brown’s father, Jack, took to Facebook this morning to thank the public for their thoughts and prayers.
“He has not pulled out his money or used his card since the 21st,” he wrote. “SSM police have also been checking his phone regularly but nothing, they will be checking some security cameras where they were told there was a possible sighting yesterday.”
Brown is described as approximately 6-foot-1, slender, with black bushy hair.
When last seen, they were wearing black shoes, black pants, a black coat, a blue and white shirt, a black hat and glasses.
Anyone with information is urged to call police at 705-949-6300.
We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.