A Canadian Army member has gone missing, according to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Kingston.
Military police and over 250 Canadian Armed Forces members were sent out in the city of Kingston to look for Pte. Michal Beaman, 22, who was last seen in Kingston on Friday night at The Spot Nightclub on Division Street.
Lt. Col. Walter Gamblin, who is involved in the investigation, says Beaman’s roommates reported him missing on Saturday morning after he did not return to their residence.
A CFB Kingston public affairs officer says Beaman is not from Kingston but was training at CFB Kingston on a course in communication electronics. He had gone out that night with friends from his course and was last seen just before midnight on Friday.
Beaman’s Facebook page says he was originally born in Moncton, N.B., but now lives in Saint John, N.B.
According to a CFB Kingston news release, Beaman has not been heard from in since Friday night, and staff are concerned for his safety.
On Tuesday, CFB Kingston says they have two search party teams, one focusing on the base and another focusing on the city of Kingston.
Kingston police are assisting military police in the search. They have two detectives working on the case and two traffic safety officers operating the Kingston police drone to aid in the search.
OPP have also confirmed their underwater search and recovery unit is assisting Kingston Police in the search, while military police say they have been combing the waterfront looking for Beaman.
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Global News spoke with Beaman’s aunt, Tracy Brewer, who lives in New Brunswick. She says Beaman’s parents have flown to Kingston to help in the search for their son. Gamblin confirmed Beaman’s parents did arrive in Kingston on Monday.
Brewer was distraught in the interview, saying it was unlike Beaman to not communicate with his loved ones for so long.
“I just want him to call us, and I know he would if he could, and that’s what’s so upsetting because if he could contact us, he would have,” Brewer said in a phone interview.
Brewer said people became very concerned Monday morning, since Beaman was expected to show up for his course in Kingston at 6:30 a.m., but didn’t. She said that Beaman would never not show up to work or to a class without a good reason, and especially not without notifying anyone.
“When he didn’t show up this (Monday) morning, now we know if he didn’t show up, he can’t — there’s some reason why he couldn’t be there because he wouldn’t just choose on his own to not be there or not show up.”
Brewer said military police have security footage of Beaman leaving The Spot in Kingston on Friday evening after speaking with a woman, then following her out of the bar. Brewer claims she was told that after some time, the woman came back to the bar without Beaman.
CFB Kingston did not respond right away when asked to confirm Brewer’s statements, but Gamblin did say that Beaman’s friends reported seeing him speak to a young woman before he disappeared.
“That was the last his course mates who were with him saw him again,” Gamblin told Global News in an interview.
Gamblin says the very last hint of Beaman’s whereabouts was a ping from his cellphone on Princess Street farther away from the nightclub.
He noted that the search for Beaman first began with a thorough search of the base, with hundreds of military members looking for the missing man. On Monday, the search party extended to the city of Kingston, including parking lots and alleyways in the downtown area.
Gamblin also noted that from speaking to those who know Beaman, his disappearance is very unusual.
“Our focus right now is we’re hopeful that he’s out there. So we’re going to turn over every stone that we can and we’re hoping we find him. The circumstances are just unusual all around,” Gamblin said.
Beaman is described as a white man who is five feet eight inches tall. He has brown hair and eyes and was reportedly wearing blue jeans, a grey hoodie, a black jacket and red shoes the last time he was seen.
CFB Kingston military police are asking anyone with information to contact them at 613-541-5010, ext. 2044.
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