Friends, family of missing N.S. veteran concerned about his disappearance

Friends and family of a Navy veteran who has been missing since May 2 are desperately sharing his information through social media channels, hoping someone will recognize him and help bring him home.

“When he’s thinking clearly, he would never do anything like this,” Charlene Gagnon said, a close friend of Michael Leo Brown. “He knows it would hurt and freak out his friends and family and he’s just not that person.

“We are very concerned.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are very concerned."

READ MORE: No new information on missing Truro boy, officials say

Nova Scotia RCMP say 49-year-old Michael Leo Brown has been missing from the Tantallon area since May 2. Police describe him as white, 5’6″ and 155 pounds with black hair and hazel eyes.

Gagnon says he usually has a beard and there is a high likelihood that he would be wearing a mask in public places due to COVID-19 precautions.

She says friends and family report he was last seen near Cormorant Lane in Tantallon. He left his cellphone and wallet at home, along with his dog. Gagnon says that’s the most alarming factor in his disappearance.

“The fact that he doesn’t have his dog with him, I think is the thing that’s really concerning a lot of folks because he was never anywhere without his dog,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The fact that he doesn't have his dog with him, I think is the thing that's really concerning a lot of folks because he was never anywhere without his dog," she said.

Gagnon says Brown served in the Navy, and although he experienced PTSD during his career, he transitioned out of the military relatively well.

She describes it as just a “normal retirement.” but says Brown was troubled the last time she spoke with him — around the time a CH-148 Cyclone helicopter crashed off the coast of Greece, killing six Canadian Armed Forces members.

“No one really talked to him about the helicopter going down. I don’t think it even went on anyone’s radar but he did seem to withdrawal around the same time. He had been struggling a little bit with a lot of events that were happening, both locally and nationally and internationally.

“He’s a very, very, very smart guy,” she said.

Gagnon says Brown is single and doesn’t have any children. Family and friends have been actively sharing his missing person information through social media.

He’s described as an avid outdoorsman who could easily cover a lot of ground on foot.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Halifax District RCMP at 902-490-5020, or by submitting an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers.