Saskatchewan RCMP discovered human remains near Pelican Narrows, a community within the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, about 420 kilometres north of Saskatoon. Police identified the remains as those of 16-year-old Jay'Siiah Webb-Long, who had been missing since last March. A Toronto advocate said the family is devastated and is searching for answers about how he got to Saskatchewan, a place they have no connection to, and why he was there. The advocate believes someone facilitated his travel because it would have been difficult for a child to reach the remote area alone. She linked the case to a broader crisis of missing Black boys in Ontario and called for serious collaboration and action by police services, along with an urgent response system for vulnerable youth.
"On May 13, Saskatchewan RCMP discovered human remains near Pelican Narrows, a community that is part of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, about 420 kilometres north of Saskatoon. Police identified the remains as belonging to 16-year-old Jay'siiah Webb-Long, who went missing last March, says Shana McCalla, founder of Find Ontario Missing Black Boys, an initiative that shares information about missing kids online and helps families."
""Just the visceral grief that the family is experiencing right now, no family should experience something like this," McCalla told CBC Radio's Metro Morning Thursday. "We were definitely holding on to hope that we would locate Jay'Siiah and this news is an unimaginable loss." She said the family is searching for answers on how the boy got to Saskatchewan a place they have no connection to and why he was there."
""How a child gets from Brampton to Pelican Narrows is baffling," said McCalla, adding she believes someone facilitated his travel there as it would have been difficult for a child to get there alone. "Josiah deserved a future, his family deserves answers and our community deserves an urgent response system when vulnerable youth are missing.""
"McCalla says Webb-Long's death is part of a crisis of missing Black boys in Ontario, which she hopes will be taken seriously through collaboration and action by various police services. Missing Black boys a larger crisis, advocate says McCalla said it's concerning to see a child moved away from their family, home and the place they've grown up in."
Read at www.cbc.ca
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