The family of a teenager from Brampton, Ontario, is in anguish and seeking explanations following the discovery of his deceased body near a secluded Saskatchewan community, according to a Toronto advocate. Saskatchewan RCMP found human remains on May 13 near Pelican Narrows, a community within the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, situated approximately 420 kilometers north of Saskatoon. The police confirmed the remains belonged to 16-year-old Jay’siiah Webb-Long, who had been missing since March, as stated by Shana McCalla, the founder of Find Ontario Missing Black Boys, an initiative dedicated to sharing information about missing children and assisting families.
Expressing profound sorrow for the family’s plight, McCalla emphasized the need for answers regarding how the teenager ended up in Saskatchewan, a place with no apparent connections to the family, and the reasons behind his presence there. She highlighted Webb-Long’s tragic death as part of a broader crisis involving missing Black boys in Ontario, urging a unified effort and concrete actions from law enforcement agencies to address the issue.
McCalla voiced her concern about the distressing trend of children being relocated away from their families and familiar environments, noting that this issue, observed since the establishment of her organization in 2024, is often overlooked. She pointed out systemic obstacles, such as law enforcement categorizing some cases as runaways or lacking effective interagency collaboration, that impede missing children investigations.
The family suspects that these challenges may have affected the handling of Webb-Long’s disappearance, citing limited communication between his mother and him via social media from March to May the previous year. They believe that delays in the investigation by Peel police were influenced by this initial contact, underscoring the need for heightened vigilance when a child’s behavior deviates significantly from the norm.
Earlier this year, McCalla submitted recommendations to Ontario’s Solicitor General concerning the issue of missing Black boys in the province, aiming to initiate discussions on potential solutions. She has engaged with law enforcement agencies in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with the hope of establishing a collaborative task force or improving jurisdictional cooperation to address these cases effectively.
A comprehensive report by CBC’s The Fifth Estate outlined concerns raised by advocates and revealed that missing boys from the GTA are being drawn into illicit activities, including work in drug operations in northern Ontario.