By Alicia McCutcheon
LITTLE CURRENT — The case of a Little Current teenager who went missing on Thanksgiving Sunday, Oct. 7, after she left the home of one of her grandmothers in the mid-afternoon, ended on a positive note early Saturday morning when Dailynn Mishibinijima-Clarke was found safe and sound, according to an article in the Manitoulin Expositor.
For five days, the Island community rallied around the family, setting up civilian search parties with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #177 acting as headquarters.
On Tuesday, Oct. 9 the Ontario Provincial Police performed an extensive air and land search, also bringing in the canine unit to try and track the missing girl.
On Thursday, Oct. 11 upwards of 100 volunteers combed the Little Current area and on Friday, volunteers with North Shore Search and Rescue led another detailed search. An area helicopter pilot even offered his services, flying low along the Little Current shoreline that same day.
The family also issued a video appeal to Dailynn through the Manitoulin Expositor's Facebook page, encouraging her to come home or for anyone who might know of her whereabouts to come forward.
Early Saturday morning, Oct. 13, Dailynn’s mother Charlene made a Facebook post with the news that her daughter had been found and was recovering in hospital, thanking everyone for their love and support during their search for their daughter.
Police report that they received a call notifying them of the teen’s whereabouts. She had, it’s been reported, sought out assistance at a Little Current residence early Saturday morning, Oct. 13, where police found her in good health.
“I’d like to thank everyone who donated food and their time, who came out to search for Dailynn,” the teen’s mother, Charlene Mishibinijima-Clarke told The Expositor.
“It was just overwhelming, the great support of the community. Me and Doug will be forever grateful for that.”
Ms. Mishibinijima-Clarke said the family heard news of Dailynn being found safe at 4:30 am on Saturday morning and the five-minute wait between the initial phone call and the confirmation call that it was indeed their daughter, “was the longest five minutes of our life.”
The mother noted that her daughter is in good health, but is still recovering in Sudbury hospital.
