Five months pass since man, 37, with Down Syndrome went missing from Toronto

It has been five months since Nathan, a 37-year-old man with Down Syndrome, went missing and police have yet to locate him or provide any updates on where he might be.

Police said Nathan was last seen around 7 p.m. on May 12 near Jane Street and Sheppard Avenue West. At the time, the search was upgraded to a level three because police were concerned that Nathan “does not have the ability to take care of himself for this amount of time.”

Nathan was new to Toronto after moving to live with his brother and sister. He previously had lived in the Waterloo/Kitchener area and a possible sighting of Nathan in Guelph did not come to fruition.

Police took an “all hands on deck” approach that included Toronto police mounted units and police dogs.

Jason Babcock is Nathan’s cousin who grew up with him.

“We were basically like brothers. We lived in the same apartment building, right up until almost our adult years,” said Babcock. “And we love playing video games. He was always funny. If he had heard him laugh, everybody would be laughing. He’s got that very, very contagious laugh.”

Babcock said he’s not sure what led up to Nathan’s disappearance, but he often liked going on walks before he went missing.

“That was just Nathan. He would walk and do that. That’s what he did when he was here in Waterloo Region. People knew him by name,” said Babcock.

Babcock told CityNews it’s been extremely difficult for the family the last five months.

“Many sleepless nights, many nights of some laughter, of memories, a lot of crying and stuff like that.”

But he said they are not giving up hope.

“We’re not putting things on the back burner when we don’t answer the “Search for Nathan” Facebook page or don’t see much in the media. That’s not true. We’re still out, we’re still looking.”

Babcock received an update from Toronto police while CityNews was speaking with him.

“The update is they are actively still on the case, they’re still doing everything, and when tips come in they are looking at those tips. So that’s where they are,” said Babcock. “They are really looking hard for Nathan, and she did say this has hit all of them very close to their hearts because of Nathan being a vulnerable person.”

He said they haven’t given up yet, but their biggest hope is closure.

“We’re absolutely hoping that we find him alive. But in a worst-case scenario, we may not. We have to remember this is five months. The family has come to terms with this. But it could happen. We could be finding him somewhere still alive.”

The five-month mark of Nathan’s disappearance comes as calls have been renewed for a vulnerable persons alert after three seniors with dementia went missing in the last two weeks, one with a tragic ending.

The NDP has introduced a bill that would send out geo-tagged emergency alerts if someone deemed vulnerable goes missing, but the bill was shelved and is currently before committee.

Babcock said he absolutely thinks an alert needs to be implemented.

“This shouldn’t even be talked about. This should have been in place long before or even at the same time as Amber Alerts.”

Police say Nathan is four feet six inches tall and 170 pounds, and has a full beard and mustache. If anyone spots him, they are asked to contact police.