Search for missing teenager ramps up
Nanaimo RCMP searched a Bruce Avenue home on Wednesday and Thursday in connection with the disappearance of a teen girl.
Makayla Chang, 16, was last seen in downtown Nanaimo on March 17, and could be with Steven Michael Bacon, 53.
Police wouldn’t say who owns the residence searched. “But it’s safe to say that we are searching areas she has frequented and possibly resided or stayed at,” Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien said.
He said police called on search-and-rescue personnel Wednesday to help check outside areas in Nanaimo where Makayla might have gone and fallen or been injured. Nothing was found.
The forensic unit was at the house Thursday — not unusual for such a search, he said.
Police around the Island, on the mainland and in the United States have been alerted about the case. She hasn’t been seen on B.C. Ferries surveillance cameras.
Makayla, who has also used the names Kayla and Finn, is typically very active on social media, but has not been using it lately. She is described as fivefoot-one and 110 pounds, with hazel eyes and hair dyed red.
She has glasses and a number of facial piercings, sometimes wears wigs and occasionally dresses as a male.
Bacon is described as fivefoot-10 and 210 pounds. He is balding, with white hair worn in a buzz cut, and has a yellowish goatee. He has a teardrop tattoo under his left eye, as well as a tattoo on the back of his right hand.
Nanaimo RCMP ask anyone with information to call them at 250-754-2345. Anonymous reports can be made by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222TIPS, going to nanaimocrimestoppers.com or texting 274637 using the keyword “Nanaimo.”