Hamilton family appeals to Ottawa for help locating Canadian man, 2 kids missing in Panama

A Hamilton couple is appealing to the government of Canada to help Panamanian authorities locate a Canadian man who has gone missing in the Central American country with his two young children — aged two years and seven months.

Ghussan Iqbal, 31, has been living in Changuinola, a city in the Bocas del Toro province of Panama on the border near Costa Rica, with his wife, Fatima, and two children for the last two years, family members living in Hamilton told CBC News.

According to the family members, on the afternoon of May 21, they received a message from Fatima that when she woke up that morning her husband and children were nowhere to be found. 

Ghussan's brother, Sulman Iqbal, and his sister-in-law, Nagham Azzam-Iqbal, who live in Hamilton, travelled to Panama on May 23 to assist with the search.

But they say the search has been "complicated" given the geography of the area, which is "dense jungle with one mountain road and with sparse communities located around," and there's simply not enough resources.

"We need the Canadian government to do something, we are in an area that is not well resourced," Azzam-Iqbal told CBC Hamilton via Zoom from Panama Tuesday morning. 

"We have three very vulnerable individuals and they need your help. We have a lot of very caring communities here that really care about Ghussan and the kids and they're doing everything they can, but they don't have the resources. 

"[Canada has] the resources and we need to deploy them for our people," she added.

Azzam-Iqbal said Ghussan, who previously lived with his parents on the Hamilton Mountain, is a McMaster University graduate and has diagnosed mental health issues that have required treatment in the past. 

His two-year-old is also a Canadian citizen, Azzam-Iqbal said. 

'Significant concern' about well-being of 2 children

Azzam-Iqbal said the family is extremely concerned about the well-being of the two children.

"We've been here for the last few days, the elements are not easy, it has been raining, like pouring rain, and then hot and humid. The jungle is thick and the resources are sparse," she said.

"We're concerned that Ghussan is either hiding or running from something, whether it's real or imagined, and we have significant concern about the well-being of these two children."

"We're worried that something happened to the children or, you know, the children are struggling and we need to find him. I think Ghussan is resilient. However, these children are extremely vulnerable and so any resources we can have, anything we can get to be able to find him sooner rather than later," Azzam-Iqbal added.

A media report in Panama shows emergency crews part of the search set up under a tent as recently as Monday. Amber alerts run by the local ministry of public security were issued for the two children on May 22.

Meanwhile, Ghussan's brother Sulman said the family has reached out to Lisa Hepfner, MP for Hamilton Mountain, as well as Global Affairs Canada to make them aware of the case and ask for help.

"The police, the community [were] very willing to do what they could, the only problem we found was that they don't have many resources," Sulman said. 

"Panama doesn't have, apparently, search dogs to deploy. Heat-capable drones, we haven't been able to locate one, so  … we're hoping Canada can help give some of those resources to find two of its citizens."

In an email statement to CBC Hamilton, Global Affairs Canada said it is aware of "the case involving a Canadian citizen and his two children in Panama" and that consular officials are "actively engaged with local authorities and are providing consular assistance to the family."

However, local law enforcement is "responsible for investigating reports of missing persons in their jurisdiction," said the email from Dina Destin, spokesperson for the department. 

CBC News reached out to Hepfner for comment. It has also reached out to government officials and police in Panama. Police there said they were not authorized to speak to international media. 

How people in Canada can help

The family is asking any of Ghussan's friends in Canada who have been in touch with him to reach out and share whatever information they have about their last contact, his mental state and location.

"If he does get in contact, if he does get a phone and contacts anybody, please reach out," Azzam-Iqbal said.

"You can either reach out to Hamilton police … or you could reach out to us individually. We're advocating for him and we're here to support him. We want to find the children, that's our number one priority."