Christopher Guimond's family 'hoping and praying' he'll be found safe

Family members of Christopher Guimond, a Winnipeg man who has been missing since April 7, are hoping he'll be found safe and sound.

His cousin, Dorothy Swampy, says the family is especially worried about his well-being after three men were killed in the city's downtown in the past few weeks.

"It's hard to think it … you don't want to go there to think he's gone," she told CBC News late Wednesday.

"You know, we're just hoping and praying."

Winnipeg police released a second photo of Guimond, 48, in the hope that someone comes forward with information about his whereabouts.

Police originally said Guimond was last seen "in the St. James area," but on Wednesday they said he was spotted "getting off a southbound Pembina Transit bus alone at the intersection of Pembina Highway and Plaza Drive at approximately 10:30 p.m." on April 7.

Swampy said Guimond contacted his mother regularly, and for him not to do so is very much out of character.

Relatives have been coming to Winnipeg from all over Manitoba to search for Guimond, she added.

"I hope it's nothing but, like I say, it's a scary thought for all this to be happening that's just happened and he's missing too," she said.

Guimond is five feet 10 inches tall, weighs about 200 pounds with a heavy build and has short brown hair.

He was last seen wearing a black spring jacket, grey hoodie, blue jeans and brown runners.

The new photo that police released of Guimond may look different from the one sent originally, but a police spokesperson told CBC News both are of the same man.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Winnipeg Police Service's missing persons unit at 204-986-6250.