Missing teen's family not giving up search, seeks public's help
The aunts of an 18-year-old Cumberland House Cree Nation man who has been missing since May are asking anyone with information about his disappearance to come forward with what they know.
Seth Deschambeault was last seen May 29 in the Prince Albert area and was reported missing to RCMP in Prince Albert on June 6.
His aunt, Loretta Deschambeault, said his family has been searching for him ever since they found out he was missing, starting with the area where he was last seen.
Family members and friends have followed up on tips people have shared with them, but could not confirm anything, she said.
“It's hard because we're up north to get that kind of support. We went and had a walk in P.A., we had a vigil, we had a walk in our community,” she added.
“I don't know what you have to do to get more awareness or more support in order for us to bring him home.”
Seth was in Prince Albert with two cousins, having left for the city from Cumberland House Cree Nation, she said.
The family has been told he left with some “friends,” but she doesn't believe they were friends — just people he may have known through his cousins, she added.
His aunt Hazel Harris, Loretta's sister, said Seth was assaulted a week before his disappearance, sustaining a stab wound and a broken leg.
She said he was initially supposed to meet his mother — whom he had not seen since he was small — in Saskatoon, but ended up in Prince Albert with cousins who picked him up.
Harris said she last heard from Seth on May 27 at 8:30 p.m., when he asked her for a code for Snapchat, a popular social media app. When she did not respond right away to a message, he called to ask for the code and mentioned it was his grandmother's “birthday in heaven,” she added.
“He loved her so much. She loved him, too,” Harris said.
She told him to be safe and that she loved him.
She went to sleep, and when she woke up after midnight, she saw her Snapchat app was open and there was a photo of Seth with some people who were not his friends, but are known to his cousins, she said.
She's heard many rumours about what happened to him, but no one has come forward with information, she added.
“No one's talking.”
In June, police issued a media release saying Seth's disappearance is considered suspicious.
The RCMP'S Major Crime unit is leading the investigation.
Saskatchewan RCMP did not respond to a request for additional comment by publication time.
Loretta described Seth as a smart person who was always smaller in stature than his peers, but wasn't afraid to speak up when picked on.
“He wasn't easy to push around,” she said.
The aunts' brother, the youngest of their siblings, is Seth's father, a journeyman carpenter. The sisters said they helped to raise Seth.
Hazel said the family has offered a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to finding Seth.
Police have described him as 5-3, weighing 120 pounds, with light brown hair and green eyes.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Prince Albert RCMP at 306-765-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).