A Community Refuses to Give Up
Destiny Rae has made one thing clear: she isn't leaving Thunder Bay until she finds her partner.
Kelsey Anderson was last seen on May 9 at the Old Navy store inside Thunder Centre, a shopping area in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Nearly two weeks have passed without any word from him, and Rae has remained in the city, determined to bring him home.
Members of several First Nations communities have come together to assist in the search — a show of collective solidarity that speaks to both the urgency of Anderson's disappearance and the broader, painful pattern of missing Indigenous people in the region.
Not the First — And That's the Problem
Anderson's case is not unfolding in isolation. Just weeks before his disappearance was reported, two other First Nations individuals went missing in Thunder Bay under similarly alarming circumstances.
Ashlynn Bottle, 23, and Nodin Skunk, 25 — both from Mishkeegogamang First Nation — were reported missing in the same city. The timing has amplified concerns among Indigenous advocates and community members who have long raised alarms about Thunder Bay and its troubling history regarding the safety of Indigenous people.
Thunder Bay has faced sustained scrutiny over the years for how it handles cases involving missing and murdered Indigenous people. Advocacy groups and families have repeatedly called for more transparency, faster police response times, and better supports for families navigating what can be an overwhelming and isolating process.
Families Doing What Institutions Have Not
What stands out in Anderson's case — and in so many others like it — is the weight being carried by loved ones and community members themselves. Destiny Rae is on the ground, searching. First Nations members are organizing. Families are the ones driving awareness.
This grassroots mobilization is both moving and sobering. It reflects deep-seated distrust in institutions and a recognition that waiting is not an option when someone you love is missing.
For many Indigenous families in Canada, the experience of a loved one going missing is compounded by historical trauma, geographic barriers, and a system that has not always responded with the urgency these cases demand. The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which released its final report in 2019, found that violence against Indigenous people amounts to genocide — and called for sweeping changes to how police, governments, and communities respond.
Those changes have been slow.
What You Can Do
If you have any information about the whereabouts of Kelsey Anderson, who was last seen May 9 at Thunder Centre in Thunder Bay, contact Thunder Bay Police Service or reach out through community channels being shared by Destiny Rae and the First Nations groups involved in the search.
For Ashlynn Bottle and Nodin Skunk of Mishkeegogamang First Nation, who also remain missing, any information should likewise be directed to Thunder Bay Police.
These are real people — with partners, families, and communities who love them. They deserve to be found.
Source: CBC News Canada. This article is based on reporting by CBC's Thunder Bay bureau.
