Thunder Bay police renew calls for assistance in search for missing man

Thunder Bay police are renewing calls for public assistance in the search for a man who's been missing for two years.

Joseph Alexander Lawson, 67 — commonly known as Alex or AJ — was last seen on Nov. 27, 2022, on Thunder Bay's north side.

At a media event on Wednesday, police said there have not been any confirmed sightings of Alex Lawson since.

"Today marks 730 days since our father Alex Lawson was last seen on video leaving his apartment here at 275 Madeline St. in the Grandview area," said Kimberly Lawson, daughter of Alex Lawson. "Despite ongoing efforts, we still have not been able to locate him."

"These past two years have been a nightmare, and living in this unknown has been extremely difficult," she said. "His disappearance has left us baffled and heartbroken. We are asking anyone with information to do the right thing and come forward."

Thunder Bay police Det. Const. Brent Parres said the search for Alex Lawson has been the "most extensive missing person investigation" in the department's history.

"We've exhausted a lot of resources right from the beginning with physical searches, drone searches," he said. "We've done waterway searches, we've had K9 dogs attend, and we've taken many pleas from the public, many different comments and follow-ups."

"On this two-year anniversary, we're just looking to forward the investigation and see if we can go further with it."

Alex Lawson is described as standing five-foot-six with a medium build and brown eyes. Police say he usually sports facial hair.

When last seen, he had long, straight grey hair, and was wearing a black baseball cap, a light-coloured North Face puffer jacket with a dark upper area, blue jeans, and black shoes.

A dedicated tipline has been established for information about Alex Lawson, and a reward is being offered for any information that leads investigators to locate him.

Anyone with information can call the tipline at 807-684-1055, or Crime Stoppers.