Toronto police are searching for a senior with dementia who was last seen leaving his home in North York on Tuesday for an afternoon walk.
In an update provided Wednesday, police said 76-year-old Norman Gray, also known as “Bill,” was last seen leaving his residence in the area of Torbarrie Road and Sheppard Avenue West, just east of Highway 400, at approximately 12 p.m.
Police said Gray is around five-foot-ten with grey curly hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a dark-coloured baseball hat, a red and blue shirt, blue jeans, a black jacket, and white shoes.
“We’re asking the public to please contact police [with any information], so we can find him and bring Norman home to his family,” Duty Inspector with the Toronto Police Service (TPS) Scott Shutt told reporters.
Gray, who has Alzheimer’s, is known to go on walks with his wife of more than 50 years, but on Tuesday, he ventured out alone.
“The day before, he did go for a walk for 15 minutes and arrived home by himself just fine – and he hasn’t wondered off in a very, very long time – so we just assumed that he would be okay,” one of his daughters, Kassandra Gray, said at the news conference. “But this time, not so much.”
“It’s been very traumatizing. We’ve been searching for hours upon hours,” she continued. “It’s been very exhausting, but the goal is to find my father.”
Kassandra described Norman as a nature lover and said he might have become confused while admiring a garden.
“There’s a possibility he might have stopped at a residence to admire their landscaping. He’s a huge gardener,” she said.
Norman Gray’s daughters, Kassandra and Kimberley, can be seen above speaking to reporters at a police update on their father’s disappearance on April 10, 2024. (CP24)
In turn, police asked residents in the area to check their backyards, sheds, and other places on their properties where a person may be able to hide.
Shutt told reporters that Gray has gone missing once before, but returned of his own volition.
“That has not occurred in this case,” he said. “So we’re very concerned for safety.”
Toronto police duty inspector Scott Shutt provides an update on the disappearance of Norman Gray, also known as “Bill,” on April 10, 2024. (CP24)
A command post has been set up at Wilson Avenue and Beverly Hills Drive.
Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact them at 416-808-3100 or Crime Stoppers anonymously.