Man missing since wildfire ‘safe and sound,’ RCMP say
FORT MCMURRAY A man who was reported missing since May’s wildfires has been located, Wood Buffalo RCMP said Thursday.
Wood Buffalo RCMP Cpl. Erika Laird confirmed Charles Bastien, 55, was located “safe and sound,” but for privacy issues, police were not releasing where he was located. Police were also not releasing why he had not contacted his family in the months following the wildfire.
“Now that we found him and have confirmed that he is safe, those are all now private and personal matters,” said Laird.
Police said Bastien’s family reported him missing in February after they had not heard from him since last spring.
His family told police he was staying at a camp in the Wood Buffalo region at the time, and police confirmed he had been in contact with people since the evacuation.
Bastien’s most recent place of residence was in Edmonton.
When the region was evacuated, Bastien was staying at a work camp near Fort McMurray.
Before he went missing, Bastien was featured in a 2014 art ex- hibition in Edmonton called The Artist Inside, displaying art from inmates at correctional facilities across Alberta.
He also worked with other inmates to paint a mural on the walls of the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre’s Native Cultural Room.
In an interview at the time, Bas- tien said he stole art from local hotels and sold it to buy alcohol. When he was in prison, he turned to art for his emotional health.
“It takes me into a different realm when I sit down and start drawing,” Bastien said.
“When I’m done, I feel so peaceful with myself.”