Ontario’s Black Youth Are Disappearing, And The System Is Failing Them
Our kids are still missing. The system is still failing. We are still fighting.
When 16-year-old Jay’siiah left home in Brampton on March 27, 2025, no one imagined months would pass without a trace. Last seen wearing a black Nike Tech tracksuit and carrying a black FILA duffel bag with lime green trim, his whereabouts were later tracked to Saskatchewan; a province that was evacuated due to forest fires. He hasn’t been heard from since May 16.
Jay’siiah’s case is not isolated.
In Toronto, 16-year-old D’André has been missing since March 20, last seen downtown near University Avenue and Armoury Street. He’s described as thin, standing about 5’10", and was wearing a hoodie and grey sweatpants at the time of his disappearance.
Just weeks ago, 14-year-old Azariah also vanished from Toronto. She was last seen June 19 near Yonge & Asquith Ave, wearing a crop top, black shorts, and black running shoes. She carries a faint scar on her right cheek and had a brown bag with her.
These are not names in a statistic. They are children. Our children. And according to Shana McCalla, founder of Find Ontario Missing Boys, the crisis goes far deeper than individual cases.
“Our youth are being lured, targeted, and brainwashed by traffickers — then moved into areas like Thunder Bay, Barrie, Orillia, Niagara, London, Windsor, and Sarnia,” McCalla said. “Often border cities. There they are forced into illegal activity, cut off from their families, and stripped of their identities.”
McCalla, based in Mississauga, has been leading the charge to find missing Black youth across Ontario. The movement, powered by community donations and grassroots organizing, recently celebrated a major victory: James, who had been missing since September 2024, was found and is now safely home. Out of respect for James’s healing process and privacy, McCalla hasn’t shared details about his recovery. But she’s clear: the work is far from over.
“This is happening to kids from all walks of life — suburban, middle-class, two-parent households. No family is immune,” she said.
Systemic Failures
The issue isn’t only the disappearances themselves. It’s how the system responds - or doesn’t. In 2021, Justice Gloria Epstein released the Missing and Missed report, which found Toronto Police failed in their handling of missing persons cases, particularly those involving marginalized people. Of the 151 recommendations made to improve investigations and support vulnerable populations, many still have not been implemented. This gap in systemic accountability leaves families and advocates to take matters into their own hands; funding searches, raising awareness, and pushing for policy change.
McCalla recently visited Sarnia; identified as one of Ontario’s red zones for youth trafficking; to meet with Victim Services, social workers, and city officials. Her goals are threefold: prevention, protection, and policy change.
Take Action
McCalla has launched a GoFundMe campaign to support the next phase of Find Ontario Missing Boys. Donations will directly fund:
- Travel to red zones to support families and search on the ground
- Community town halls and school safety education
- Therapy and legal aid for recovered youth
- Outreach to mayors, MPs, MPPs, police, and media
- Flyers, awareness campaigns, and data collection
“This is about more than just finding the missing — it’s about demanding justice, changing policy, and making sure this doesn’t keep happening to our children,” McCalla said.
