Community members in the Greater Toronto Area are feeling discouraged over insufficient efforts in the search for missing Black boys.
On Thursday, Board Member of Victim Services of Peel Kerry Lee-Crawford organized a town hall meeting at Revival Time Tabernacle in North York to address the growing concern surrounding missing Black youth. The meeting brought together concerned community members, activists and local officials to discuss the latest developments.
Last week, the Brampton Black Empowerment Unit held a town hall sounding the alarm on missing Black youth, and demanding police to take action. The issue was raised following a video published last month by the African Diaspora News Channel by reporter Emma Ansah, which indicated the number of young Black teens who are missing in Ontario.
LATEST DATA ON MISSING BLACK YOUTH
As of today, Toronto police confirmed that three 15-year-old boys remain missing: Malachi, Jeffrey and Makhei. Police told Now Toronto that 110 of the 200 youth between the ages of 12 and 17 reported missing in Toronto in 2024 were Black.
“While it is true that Black youth are reported missing more frequently than youth of other races, the rumour that many Black youths are currently unaccounted for is not true. Ninety-six per cent of missing persons reported to the Toronto Police are found, and currently, there are three missing Black youth in the city. Even one missing youth is too many, and we are committed to locating them and ensuring their safety,” police told Now on Jan. 9.
MISSING YOUTH:
— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) January 14, 2025
Jeffrey, 15
-last seen Jan. 13 at 10am, in the Weston Rd & Rogers Rd area
-described as 6'0" with a thin build
-wearing a long black hooded jacket, green hooded sweater and white shoes#GO95527
^av pic.twitter.com/EYMLsOF8dB
Meanwhile, Peel police say they have not observed an epidemic of missing Black youth and insist that missing persons cases in the region remain within normal parameters.
In Durham region, police say a 15-year-old Black boy from Whitby, who had been missing since Oct. 2024, was safely located earlier this week.
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LACK OF MEDIA AND PUBLIC ATTENTION
Ansah believes the issue of young missing Black youth does not receive enough mainstream media attention compared to those of other races and as a result, community members are feeling the frustration.
“It just doesn’t seem like our lives are that important. With us all getting together like this and bringing a spotlight to it, I think we’re now sending the message that this is important, because we do see other races of people that make it to mainstream, and we are asking the question, ‘Why aren’t we seeing our Black youth making it to the mainstream?’ But we’re not really getting that answer,” she told Now Toronto on Thursday.
Ansah is calling for systemic changes, including the implementation of Amber Alerts for missing Black youth, especially since more than half of the youth reported missing in Toronto are Black, she says.
“…There’s no reason why we can’t do the same thing with our missing Black teens, especially when they identify with the stats that they presented that more than half of them are Black,” she said.
TORONTO POLICE ON MISSING PERSONS
Toronto police assures residents that every missing person case involving youth and vulnerable individuals is treated with the utmost seriousness and urgency.
“We have developed a network of nearly 300 community partnerships dedicated to assisting in the daily efforts to locate and support missing persons. We encourage the community to continue reporting missing persons immediately, as timely information is critical to finding them quickly,” police said to Now.
For more information regarding the protocol for missing persons in Toronto, residents can click here.
PEEL POLICE ON MISSING PERSONS
According to Peel Police Public Information Officer Constable Tyler Bell, the majority of missing adult cases involve individuals who choose to remain unaccounted for or are teens considered to be habitual runaways.
“There’s a high frequency of missing persons reports. I mean, the overwhelming majority of these cases of missing persons are actually either runaways or someone who just didn’t, unfortunately, their family didn’t know what they were doing,” he explained to Now Toronto on Friday.
“Of course, there’s certain circumstances where people might be leaving, whether it be, an abusive situation at home, or they’re living a different lifestyle that they want to keep secret or there’s nefarious reasons for their disappearance. The overwhelming majority of missing persons investigations are not suspicious in nature,” he added.
However, Ansah argues that these are circumstances which warrant a deeper investigation.
“They sort of lumped it under two categories, which is, they’re running away from something or running to something. So, then my question is, ‘What are they running away from? How are we addressing that? And what are they running to? Who are they being lured by? And how are we addressing that?’” she said.
COMMUNITY MEMBERS DEMAND ANSWERS
At the meeting, Deputy Mayor of Toronto and Ward 3 Etobicoke—Lakeshore Councillor Amber Morley expressed understanding and sympathy for the families affected.
“We heard tonight from one of the family members that are affected, one of the fathers who spoke whose son has been missing, about what the experience has been for them to navigate the systems that exist, and just the excruciating nature of navigating something so tragic and not knowing where your young person is,” she explained to Now Toronto on Thursday.
“It is important for me as a community leader, to ensure that we are sharing information, that we are empowering families and residents and young people with the information and the resources that they need to appropriately navigate,” she continued.
Similarly, Lee-Crawford says the meeting is about amplifying voices of the families impacted by the disappearances.
“…The most important facet was the parents of the missing children, like hearing from them, not a dry eye in the house. Difficult to hear, but so important to share. And I think everyone who was there to experience that understood the pain that the parents were feeling. And collectively, though we can’t do anything as individuals, we know collectively that we truly can make a difference,” he said.
Despite criticism surrounding law enforcement efforts, he acknowledged the support coming from all police units and the challenges they face when dealing with such difficult cases.
“I feel like it’s a really challenging seat to be in. It’s some tough things to hear when you know that your job is predicated on the protection of vulnerable persons, and when those persons end up missing and or especially deceased. It’s not easy, but critical conversations are the most important kind, and we know that with conversation comes clarity,” Lee-Crawford said.
PETITION TO RAISE AWARENESS
Back in December, Toronto-based multimedia producer Shana McCalla began a petition highlighting the issue of missing Black boys hoping to gain the attention of police, media and the public. At this time of publication, the petition has nearly 3,600 signatures nearing its goal of 5,000.
“If we do nothing, we risk losing these boys forever. We risk losing more of our youth—forgotten, unheard, unseen. The silence surrounding their cases—the lack of media coverage, public alerts, and visible police urgency—is unacceptable,” the organizer wrote.
“These boys deserve every effort to bring them home, and their families deserve answers. This is about ensuring that when our children go missing, the same urgency and resources are applied as they would be for anyone else,” it continued.
The next town hall is scheduled on Jan. 23 at Brampton City Hall, followed by a fourth meeting in Durham on Jan. 30.
