Police continue search for teen missing from Edmonton all summer

Police say they continue to investigate the disappearance of an Edmonton teen who has been missing all summer. Samuel Bird, who is 14, was last seen in June, when he left home to visit a friend in the city’s west end. He left the friend’s house on foot but never returned home. The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) says his disappearance is suspicious, and he has no phone or access to money. Officers say Samuel is known to frequent the West Edmonton Mall and is familiar with both west and south Edmonton. Video: Mom of missing Alberta teen asks for any info on son’s whereabouts Insp. Sean Anderson says officers are “deeply attuned” to the national tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous people, and their hearts go out to the boy’s family. “The detectives investigating this case have been tirelessly following every lead since Samuel was reported missing in June and continue to do so. We never stop looking for missing people,” Anderson said Friday in a statement. The Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations said Grand Chief Greg Desjarlais and Samuel’s family have formally asked police to designate the case a search and recovery operation. It said in a statement that the designation would enable his family and First Nation to access further resources and personnel to increase search efforts. It also said members of the public have taken it upon themselves to look for the boy, with social media complicating the investigation with false tips and narratives. Video: Edmonton police designate case of Samuel Bird as a search and recovery “This has been a time of deep pain and uncertainty for the family,” Coun. Cameron Alexis with “We’ve felt the compassion of the community. What we nAlexis Nakota Sioux Nation said in the statement.eed now is co-operation — across jurisdictions, across systems — so we can carry out this search with the care, urgency and respect Samuel deserves.” Samuel is described as 5′8″ with a slim build, brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about his disappearance is asked to contact EPS at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. By Aaron Sousa Continue Reading