Search continues for Shopify exec reported missing in Ottawa
Ottawa police continue to investigate the disappearance of a Shopify executive who went missing in Ottawa, and his family says they are not giving up hope.
Brett O'Grady, 35, was reported missing Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. He was last seen in the Avro Circle area in the east end. An extensive police search for the Shopify executive took place over the weekend with the help of volunteers.
However, Gord O'Grady, Brett O'Grady's father, told CTV Ottawa's Graham Richardson on Newstalk 580 CFRA on Monday afternoon that the police search was suspended Sunday night.
"The police suspended the search in the particular area in the woods near his home because they don't believe he is in this area any longer," he said. "So, they've suspended the search. They're continuing the investigation. Now we're relying more on media and the public to provide, hopefully, leads to find him."
Gord O'Grady told CTV News Ottawa on Sunday that the family is offering a $10,000 reward for tips that lead to Brett being found.
In a press release, Ottawa police described him as a Caucasian man, 5-foot-8 (173cm) tall, with a medium build, brown hair and brown eyes.
He was last seen wearing a black t-shirt with a purple wolf logo, dark jeans, and navy blue shoes. He was also believed to be riding a red and black Pure Fix bicycle.
O'Grady is the head of treasury and risk at Shopify. In a statement, a company spokesperson said they are hoping he will be found safe.
"We are deeply concerned to hear that Brett has been reported missing by his family and we are hopeful for his safe return. We are doing all we can to support in the search effort and urge anyone with information to please contact the Ottawa police," the spokesperson said.
Police said early Sunday afternoon that members of the emergency services unit were deployed Friday evening to aid in the search, after police received some investigative leads. The search was focused on a wooded area near the Aviation Parkway and the Ottawa River.
'Just come home': Family and friends canvass the city
"We just need help from the community to see if anyone has seen him, if anyone has any leads," said Brett O'Grady's wife, Becky O'Grady.
Family and friends set up a command centre at O'Grady's home, and groups were sent out across the city to hand out flyers and pictures of the missing 35-year-old.
"So many people here, maybe up to 100 people here yesterday and again today, just getting directions from Mike on where to go," said Gord O'Grady. "They handed out 2,600 fliers yesterday and we're broadening it more east and west in and outside of the city."
O'Grady's family say they just want Brett to come home, "No questions asked."
"We're just lost as to why he would do this and where he could possibly be," said Gord O'Grady.
"We just want you to come home, we love you, everyone here loves you. Just come home," said Becky O'Grady.
Emergency responders were set up Sunday in the area of Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway, Polaris Avenue, the Ottawa River and the Aviation Parkway. The police operation included water and shoreline searches and the use of a drone.
Gord O'Grady said on Monday the search over the weekend kicked off when a neighbour found Brett's bicycle in the woods on Friday.
"That was the starting point. The police could get the search teams mobilized, the emergency services unit, the dog teams and so on," he said. "They believe now, based on their experience and the area that they've searched in this neighbourhood, that they've done their exenstive search and they can't continue because the search area is too broad. What they need is another starting point. The bicycle was the starting point last Friday. Now, they need another lead."
Ottawa police and Ottawa paramedics have set up near the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum on Oct. 17, 2021 as part of an extensive search for a missing man. Brett O'Grady, 35, was reported missing Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021. (Jeremie Charron/CTV News Ottawa)
Anyone with information about the current whereabouts of Brett O’Grady is asked to call the Ottawa Police at 613-236-1222.
If you have information that could assist investigators, but do not know where he is currently, please contact the Missing Persons Unit 613-236-1222, ext. 2355, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays.
Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 or at crimestoppers.ca
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.