Philippe Guérin
Missing since: June 12th, 1966
Year of birth: 1939
Age at disappearance: 27
Gender: Male
Bio group: Caucasian
Eye colour: Brown
Hair: Short brown
Height: 170 cm / 5 ft 7 in
Build: medium
Teeth: no upper teeth
Last seen wearing: a black sleeveless top and grey sweatpants
A patient of the Ontario Psychiatric Hospital, from where he disappeared
At the age of 10, Philippe Guérin was paralyzed by polio and as a result he walked with a limp. At the time he went missing, on June 12th, 1966, Philippe was a 27-year old patient of the Ontario Hospital, a psychiatric hospital that was located in the North end of North Bay and that has since been demolished. Hospital authorities sent a letter to the Widdifield Police Department to report him as missing. In operation from 1958 to 1968, the Widdifield Police had yet to be annexed to what was then known as the North Bay Police Department.
The Widdifield Police followed up on a lead from a North Bay clergyman who picked up a hitchhiker matching Philippe’s description in the Sudbury area at Falconbridge. The hitchhiker, who the clergyman dropped off at the junction of Highways 17 and 11, south of North Bay, said he was heading to Sacré-Coeur, Québec. This lead met with negative results.
Widdifield Police were never able to locate Philippe and the investigation, now with the North Bay Police Service, remains unsolved.
Age Progressed Image
Through collaboration with the Ontario Provincial Police and with the support of Guerin's family, a previously unknown photograph of Philippe Guerin, as well as current photographs of a sibling, have been used to create an age-progressed image. Both images follow at the end of this media release.
Our oldest unsolved missing person investigation
Philippe Guérin's disappearance is the North Bay Police Service's oldest unsolved missing person investigation. On the 50th anniversary of his disappearance, in June 2016, we invited family members to tell his story to the media. See results below.
Family still looking for closure after 50 years by Matthew Allen, North Bay Nugget
Philippe Guérin is latest missing person profiled by North Bay Police by Matt Sookroom, MyNorthBayNow.com
He just vanished by Chris Dawson, baytoday.ca
Video below by Clarke Heipel, Cogeco TV:
Submit a tip
Anyone with information that may help us with this investigation is asked to call the North Bay Police Service at 705-497-5555 (and select option 5 to speak to a police officer) or visit us in person at 135 Princess Street West, North Bay.
For those who wish to remain anonymous, contact Near North Crime Stoppers by telephone toll-free at 1-800-222-8477, or submit a tip online at nearnorthcrimestoppers.com.