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A T-shirt bearing a missing-person poster for Parker is worn by Steve Phan, a civilian volunteer search coordinator, at the Greenview community staging area in Calgary on Tuesday.Amir Salehi/The Globe and Mail
Police are urging Calgary residents and real estate agents to check on empty homes as a massive search for a missing boy reaches its seventh day.
Acting Staff Sgt. Scott Guterson says 11-year-old Parker has autism and is non-verbal but has skills to survive, perhaps in a home where the occupants are away on vacation.
“He would be able to use the tap to get water, and he would know to use the fridge to get food,” Guterson said at a news conference Wednesday.
He reiterated for people to check and recheck any other place Parker could hide out – garages, sheds, under decks, in boats and recreational vehicles.
Hundreds of people are searching for the boy, and Guterson said investigators are working through more than 400 tips.
Police have not released the boy’s last name.
Parker walked away from his day home in northern Calgary last Thursday.
Community rallies to search for missing 11-year-old Calgary boy
“I cannot recall a time in the city where a missing child has been missing for this long,” Guterson said.
He said despite the long time frame, they do not believe he has met with foul play and they have not given up hope.
“There may come a time when we have exhausted all the reasonable searches for Parker, but that day is not today,” Guterson said.
“We still continue to use ground units to search, we continue to search by air, we continue to search the water. We are doing everything we can to find Parker and bring him home.”
The search is complicated by Parker’s condition, as he could become scared if confronted by strangers.
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Parker, an 11-year-old non-verbal boy with autism shown in this undated handout photo, went missing from a day home in Calgary’s north end on Thursday.HO/The Canadian Press
To that end, searchers are trying to entice him to come out of a hiding place. For example, officers played some of Parker’s favourite Disney songs from patrol vehicles and Guterson said others have scattered Goldfish crackers on the ground. He noted missing posters with Parker’s photo are papered across lampposts.
Early in the search, Parker’s family issued a statement saying that he is a “loved son, brother and friend.”
“Our family is heartbroken by his disappearance. Since he went missing, our family has been living every parent’s worst nightmare,” the family statement said.
“Every hour that passes without knowing where he is or whether he is safe has been incredibly difficult for us.”
The search galvanized the public but also exposed problems with public participation in the age of the internet and social media.
Police say their work has been slowed as they check on altered images and videos created with artificial intelligence shared online claiming to show Parker or provide information about his whereabouts. One false report said the boy had been found dead and a fraudulent GoFundMe page was also created.
The search also raised questions on how to alert the public when vulnerable children disappear. Amber Alerts are currently broadcast for children abducted and in serious danger.
In this case, an Amber Alert was issued as a special exemption for Parker, but not until the second day of the search. At least two mothers in Calgary have started online petitions to urge officials to launch similar broad emergency messages for categories such as neurodivergent children.