It may have been 34 years since Alana Cawston last saw her brother Terry Zubko, but despite that length of time there is still clear emptiness as the family wonders what happened to Terry, who was last seen at 10 a.m. on July 21, 1982.
A resident of Sault Ste. Marie, Terry had been a patient of the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital at the time of his disappearance. He walked out of the hospital that day and hasn’t been seen since.
“Loss is still raw in our hearts,” says Terry’s sister Alana, while her mother standing next to her tries to hold back tears.
Alana and her daughter, who now live in Fort Frances, and her mother Audrey Zubko, who still lives in Sault Ste. Marie, were part of a missing persons press conference the North Bay Police Service held on Thursday morning with the goal of trying to rekindle anyone ’s memories that could help lead to finding the whereabouts of Terry, who would be 52 years old today.
“It’s great to have his family here to speak about it. It’s very evident the effect it has had on them and then having to go through this for that number of years without having any answers. And ultimately that is our goal is to get the family some answers as to what happened to Terry,” said Scott Buchanan, a North Bay Police Service Detective Constable.
Zubko is described as:
- Caucasian
- 5’-8” (172 cm)
- 123 lbs (56 kg)
- straight brown hair
- hazel (blue/grey) eyes
At the time of his disappearance, it is believed he was wearing:
- blue jeans;
- a brown and beige v-neck striped sweater;
- a blue t-shirt; and
- blue and white running shoes.
Alana says Terry is a much-loved brother and son. Her memories of Terry still seem very fresh in her mind.
“Growing up for the first 17 years, before he went missing, I remember him as a loving, kind and caring brother and son,” stated Cawston in her statement to the media.
“He loved animals, sports and hobbies. Terry enjoyed collecting stamps, biking, water skiing, fishing, and building forts with us, and helping my parents with building and landscaping at the cottage, in Blind River. He also enjoyed playing hockey during the winter and the summer months.”
Terry was sent to the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital as an involuntary patient from Sault Ste. Marie in May of 1982. The family says Terry was afraid of hospitals, especially ones like the old North Bay Psychiatric Hospital which was located on Highway 11 North of the city.
They are just surprised how easy it seemed to be for Terry to leave the premises only weeks before being considered a level four patient needing the highest level of security.
“Terry left the hospital premises with only the shirt on his back, pants and shoes, no ID no money, no way to find home, and disappeared,” Alana said.
“We the family, believe it’s time for the government, the mental health system and the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital to acknowledge and accept that they failed my brother and many others by their indifference to provide quality care and safety to the most vulnerable of our society.”
Since that time the family has been in constant contact with police services over the past three decades.
The Zubko family also believes it should be a priority to have a DNA registry created for missing persons across Canada.
“Our family has provided DNA but we understand a National DNA for missing people does not exist. If we had a National DNA registry, it could be used it identify any ‘John Doe’ or ‘body’ found and bring closure for many families,” said Alana.
However Buchanan insists technology has made some great strides since 1982.
“I feel the families frustration as to what information they have been told at the time and what’s progressing now,” he said.
“I believe the police at the time were doing the best with what they had at the time.”
Anyone with information that may assist police with this investigation is asked to contact investigating officer D/Cst. Scott Buchanan at the North Bay Police Service at 705-497-5555.