Friends and family of former Carleton student Michael Pineau, 19, who went missing March 15, said they haven’t given up hope that he’ll return.
Last seen running from his home in the Meadowlands and Viewmount area, the Ottawa area has been papered with hundreds of flyers and undergone a massive ground search.
“He means so much to so many people,” said second-year communications student Jillian Sacki, a friend of Pineau’s since meeting in residence last year. “I think he will turn up.”
Pineau and his roommate, second-year sociology student Meghan McAloney, were racing to their front door when they both slipped and fell, she said. McAloney said Michael then got up and took off.
Friends tried to stop Pineau, she said, but they figured he was just going for a run to cool off, something he did quite frequently.
McAloney said she and Pineau became close very fast after meeting in residence last year. “He is the kind of friend that would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it,” she said. “He would literally do anything for you.”
Pineau’s parents came from their hometown of Mattawa, Ont. to spearhead the search for their son, said his sister and fourth-year public affairs and policy management student Miriam Pineau.
Miriam said they organized a massive ground search of the entire Ottawa area with about 40 volunteers March 19-20.
“We looked everywhere, we split up the Ottawa area and didn’t find anything,” Miriam said. “We’re still looking, we’re still hopeful.”
Pineau has had his bouts with depression, Miriam said, but they had never been severe enough to explain his disappearance.
Pineau was in the humanities program at Carleton, but had stopped taking classes after first semester this year and was looking into changing programs before next year, Miriam said.
McAloney, along with Pineau’s other roommates, friends and family, have teamed up in putting up flyers all over Carleton’s campus as well as throughout the Ottawa area in hopes Pineau will turn up soon, McAloney said.
“We just need more people to know and more people to have eyes open. We need to find him, whatever state he’s in. We just need that piece of mind,” McAloney said.
Although she said it’s been a discouraging week, she is hopeful the lack of evidence is a good sign.
“I can’t even put into words how appreciative everyone has been of the support we have had with friends and family and everyone just wants him back home and back into his parents’ arms,” McAloney said.
“I think that we’ll find him and I think that we’ll be okay and I think that we’re all going to give him a little bit of heck for scaring us,” Sacki said.
Pineau is described as being white, six feet one inch, 190 pounds, medium build with short brown hair and a mole on his left cheek.
He was last seen in the Fisher Glen area of Ottawa wearing a grey and black winter jacket, blue jeans and hiking boots.
Anyone with information on Pineau’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Ottawa Police at 613-236-1222 ext. 7500 or Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477 (TIPS), or toll free at 1-800-222-8477.