Family believes missing man was lured from home
27-year-old father left behind wallet, cellphone, sister thinks he ‘went with somebody’
More than two months after Cameron Bailie disappeared, his family has said they believe he was lured from his home the day he went missing.
According to Bailie’s sister Nicole Gerrard, there are numerous unusual circumstances about how their home was left that suggest he did not leave alone and did not intend to be gone for long.
Bailie’s disappearance from his south Oshawa home on Jan. 10 has generated great interest in Durham region — a Cameron Bailie Search Group page on Facebook has almost 5,000 members — but so far, there have been few clues as to what happened or his whereabouts.
The day he disappeared, Gerrard said Bailie, 27, visited her at work and was last seen on a surveillance camera arriving at their shared townhouse at 12:15 p.m.
Gerrard returned four hours later to find windows and a door open, music on and exercise equipment out.
A workout was part of his routine, but it was unlike him to leave things out, she said.
Her brother was nowhere to be found.
She found his cellphone, wallet, car, car keys and coats. The only thing she noticed that was missing were his cigarettes. Curious to Gerrard, there was a set of wet footprints leading up to their front door.
“I personally think somebody came to the door, and Cameron left with them or (went out) via the back door,” she said. “Something was said, or done . . . I think he went with somebody.”
An apprentice engineer and father to a 4-year-old son, Bailie comes from a close-knit family of five children. He and Gerrard live with their mother Marion, with other siblings and their families just minutes away.
Bailie’s ex-girlfriend Felecia Barker agreed the circumstances were unusual. “I can see someone coming to the door and asking for help,” she said. “Or somebody coming to the door saying to come out for a smoke. Or somebody came to the door and somehow threatened him and told him, ‘Let’s go now’ . . . I don’t want to say kidnapped. He definitely would not go down without a fight.”
Durham Regional Police said Bailie’s disappearance is a missing person investigation, and would confirm few details.
“If there is something that determines foul play, the investigation will change its direction,” Const. George Tudos said.
Eight days after Bailie disappeared, his shoes were found in separate parts of Lakeview Park. Family members said the area had been searched multiple times before the find.
Bailie had no history of mental illness, according to his eldest sister, Amanda Gerrard.
“He was at my house the night before,” she said. “There was nothing out of the ordinary. I’m a nurse. I am trained to pick up on these kinds of things.”
Family friend Debra Wilson described Bailie as “a happy-go-lucky kid.”
“He wouldn’t do anything to hurt himself,” she said.
Bailie and Barker met in 2010 and became a couple the next year. Barker moved into the family home when she became pregnant with their son. They separated in January 2016, with Barker citing their young age and the stress of living with family.
On Facebook, the Cameron Bailie Search Group page includes daily updates on missing person posters, and concerned citizens report their own searches across the Durham region. Nearly 100 people attended a candlelight vigil for Bailie on Feb. 10, one month after he disappeared.
Frequent search parties began after Bailie’s disappearance and have continued with initial focus around Lakeview Park on the shores of Lake Ontario. Recreational diver Jim Van Loosen has made numerous dives into the lake and found nothing.
“It’s only about four feet deep (in parts),” he said. “If he was there, he would surface.”
The Ontario Volunteer Emergency Response Team also plans a dive to look for Bailie as part of a training exercise.
“Somebody out there knows where he is, what happened and nobody’s come forward yet,” Gerrard said. “I am going to spend the rest of my life looking for my brother and until I physically see him, it’s not over.”