Exclusive: Police task force established to help find missing men
Posted July 27, 2017 9:06 pm.
Last Updated July 28, 2017 4:55 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CityNews has learned a special task force is being set up to try to find out what happened to a pair of missing men from the Gay Village.
Flyers have been posted throughout the Church and Wellesley area, asking for information on the disappearance of Andrew Kinsman and Selim Esen.
As many as six to seven officers will be dedicated to trying to solve the mystery, a “rare” step according to one police detective.
There’s been no trace of Kinsman, 49, since June 26th and his disappearance is completely out of character, according to his friends.
Esen, 43, hasn’t been seen since April 15th.
The gay community has set up a Facebook page called “Toronto’s Missing 2LGBTQA*”.
“Some members of the community and media have made a connection between the disappearance of Mr. Kinsman and that of 11 other males, compiled on a missing persons poster which has been disseminated on Facebook,” reads a post from Det. Sgt. Barry Radford, who attempts to alleviate fears about the pairs disappearance. “This is not factually correct and quite misleading.”
Radford goes on to say that of the 11 other people listed on the poster, five have been located alive and one was located deceased by apparent suicide.
Police say there is no evidence that the disappearances are linked or that foul play is involved but they can’t rule out either of those possibilites.
The last time 51 Division set up a task force was following the disappearance of three men from the village between 2010 and 2012. All three were deemed suspicious and connected. The three have never been found.
Police have not been able to rule out the possibility that this cold case is connected in any way to the most recent disappearance.
Police are expected to hold a town hall meeting with the gay community next week to address the growing fears and concerns.