Police to respond to cases of missing men

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam says police have said no physical evidence connecting cases of missing men

Toronto police are expected to respond next week to growing concerns about the number of men reported missing from the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood and surrounding areas in recent months and years.

Police have told Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam Monday that, while there may be some similarities, they have found no evidence linking the cases, following a conference that brought together investigators looking into various missing persons, said Wong-Tam, who represents Ward 27 (Toronto Centre— Rosedale).

“They don’t want people to be alarmed. They do understand why individuals are perhaps feeling anxious,” she said.

“The police will come forward to provide some statement to confirm what they already know and to give as much information, so that the community has the most up-to-date information in the most transparent manner next week.”

Toronto police did not respond to requests for comment.

Concerns about missing men have grown since Andrew Kinsman disappeared last month. Kinsman, 49, was last seen on June 26 in the area of Parliament and Winchester Sts. and police are treating his disappearance as suspicious.

Three men linked to the Church and Wellesley community were previously reported missing between 2010 and 2012. Some people concerned about the missing men have also highlighted reports of missing men since April this year, some of whom were last seen in the area sur- rounding Church and Wellesley.

“I do understand why the community, especially the online community that’s watching the social media activity at the moment, is feeling more anxious than usual; it does look alarming,” Wong-Tam said.

“There are all sorts of reasons for us to be vigilant, because we, as a community, have been targeted in the past,” she said, adding that homophobic and transphobic violence happens every day.

Suzanne Paddock, the interim executive director of the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation, where Kinsman worked as a volunteer, said a lack of information is contributing to a fair amount of anxiety in the community.

That concern is heightened by a lack of confidence that “mainstream institutions” such as the police will take care of members of the LGBTQ community the same way they would others, she said.