A local woman is joining the chorus of voices who are calling for silver alerts to be sent to cell phones to help locate missing vulnerable seniors.
The Manitoba RCMP continues to search for Stewart Campbell, a 69-year-old male who was reported missing on July 17, 2025. Stewart Campbell was last seen near Stonewall on July 15, and his car was found in the Starbuck area on July 24. Campbell is described as approximately 5’8” tall, 110 pounds with grey shaggy hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a burgundy sweatshirt, light-coloured blue jeans and black work boots. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911 or Stonewall RCMP at 204-467-5015
Lana Knor of Teulon is a relative of Stewart Campbell, a 69-year-old man who was last seen at a friend’s place near Stonewall on July 15 at about 3:30 a.m. He was reported missing two days later, and his car was found in east of Starbuck on July 24.
Police conducted an aerial search and asked area residents to check their properties and security cameras. Campbell hasn’t been located, and the RCMP are concerned for his well-being. They noted that Campbell might be confused or disoriented.
A silver alert system provides notification when a vulnerable adult with dementia or other cognitive impairment goes missing so they can be brought home safely. Knor believes a silver alert should be sent to cell phones, just like amber alerts, which exist for vulnerable children.
“I believe if an alert had gone out on cell phones when Stewart first went missing, someone would have seen him. Stewart is quiet and minds his business. He is the guy that can go in and out of a store full of strangers without being noticed. If people saw his picture, there would have been a better chance he would have been noticed,” she said.
“Stewart has been missing since July 15 and his car was located July 24 off Highway 2. A search was done in the area but he was not located. We suspect he may have caught a ride to get gas and is now lost in another unknown community. The alert on cell phones would have helped locate him.”
She points to a petition calling on the federal government to work with provincial authorities and law enforcement to develop a national silver alert system that would geographically target mobile devices and broadcast information to media about missing vulnerable adults. Brittany Moberg started the petition after her father Earl went missing almost two years ago.
“I have never met Brittany or Brenda, Earl’s wife of almost 50 years. I only recently heard about the petition and that Earl is missing still,” Knor said.
“It made me realize Brittany is right — there needs to be a silver alert sent to cell phones. A silver alert system going out to cell phones gives vulnerable adults a better chance to be found and brought home safely.”
Raquel Dancho, MP for Kildonan-St. Paul, is supporting the petition and intends to bring it forward in the House of Commons when it resumes in the fall.
The petition notes that, according to the Alzheimer Society, nearly one million people in Canada will be living with dementia by 2030 and this number will increase to more than 1.7 million by 2050.
Public Safety Canada notes that 60 per cent of people living with dementia will go missing at some point. If a person with Alzheimer’s disease is not found within 12 hours of being lost, there is a 50 per cent chance they will be found injured or dead from hypothermia, dehydration or drowning. As a result, any search should be considered an emergency.
“There are many missing vulnerable adults all over Canada,” Knor added. “It is not as many as children, but the numbers are still increasing.”
To view the petition, visit ourcommons.ca/petitions and search for the petition called “e-6491 (Public Safety).” So far, the petition has garnered more than 3,300 signatures from across the country, with more than 1,900 coming from Manitoba.
