One week ago, on Aug. 18, 76-year-old Paul Doughty left his home in Musquash, N.B. to buy a blueberry pie.
His family has not seen or heard from him since.
“The last time somebody spoke to him I believe was my brother, and that would’ve been about 2:17 that afternoon,” says Doughty’s daughter Cheryl Beddow.
Two hours after that call, security camera footage from McKay’s Wild Blueberries in Pennfield shows him making a purchase.
No one knows where he went from there.
“I let it go a day because I thought maybe he just needed to clear his head and maybe he was out,” Beddow says.
She says when she couldn’t get a hold of her father, she notified the rest of her family and then began checking with hospitals to see if he’d been admitted for some reason.
Doughty’s family says he has not been diagnosed with dementia but does get bouts of mild confusion.
Beddow says he also has an ostomy bag that requires constant care — which he would be embarrassed to go without.
She says hospitals told her to get police involved, so she did.
It’s believed Doughty drove his grey 2013 Buick Verano with New Brunswick plate number JFJ 395 to the blueberry stand that day.
He’s described as 5’7” tall, weighing approximately 100 pounds with short grey hair and brown eyes.
RCMP Sgt. Luc Samson at the Grand Bay-Westfield Detachment tells Global News officers province-wide are on the lookout.
“Everybody’s aware of the vehicle and the missing person,” he says.
“The Department of Natural Resources is out as well.”
He says police have sifted through a ton of tips, including unconfirmed sightings of Doughty in Fredericton and Miramachi, having conducted aerial searches near the blueberry stand.
Still, Beddow worries it took them too long to get started.
She says police didn’t ask the blueberry stand for surveillance footage until five days after Doughty’s disappearance.
Staff at the stand confirm that to Global News, saying they went out of their way to get the security images to the family before police ever came knocking.
“This is the RCMP’s job to look into this,” Beddow says.
“They could’ve had dad that very first day on camera.”
The family has plastered missing persons posts all over social media, leading to an influx of tips they say.
Doughty’s granddaughter, Amanda Saia, handing out physical flyers Wednesday morning.
“We would like to think that they’re doing their best, but from a family perspective, it does not feel that way,” she says.
“It doesn’t seem like they’re taking it seriously enough.”
RCMP wouldn’t comment on the family’s frustrations, but continue to say they are on the case.
The family is hoping for the best and asking residents across New Brunswick to keep an eye out.
“Just keep your eyes peeled,” asks Beddow.
“From Saint John clear through to Fredericton or Miramachi, you just don’t know.
Those roads from Pennfield lead everywhere.”
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