'I need to find my son': N.S. mother desperate for answers a year after son's disappearance
A Nova Scotia mother is still desperately searching for answers a year after her son disappeared without a trace.
“It’s like he completely vanished. No trace whatsoever,” says Theresa Gray. “No social media, no using of his bank account, no answering texts or phone calls.”
Friday marks the one-year anniversary of Devon Marsman’s disappearance.
Halifax Regional Police say the teen was last seen in the Spryfield areaon Feb. 24, 2022 and reported missing to police on March 4, 2022. He was 16 at the time.
At that time, Halifax police said they had no reason to suspect foul play in Marsman’s disappearance.
However, police said in October that they believed his disappearance was suspicious.
“It should have been criminal, deemed suspicious right away,” says Gray.
Gray says her daughter saw the teen at home on Feb. 24, 2022, but that police have told her they have proof he ordered a taxi to his cousin’s house in Spryfield the next day.
Police would only tell CTV News that Marsman was last seen in Spryfield.
“If someone’s not holding him, I think harm has been done to him, and I need to find my son,” says Gray.
She says police did collect some evidence while searching a residence in the Spryfield area.
“I was told not long ago, they can’t specifically tell me what came back, but whatever came back, now it’s called hold evidence.”
Halifax Regional Police Const. John MacLeod tells CTV News he can’t release specifics about the case because it’s an ongoing investigation.
“But we can tell you we have been and continue to look into investigative avenues,” says MacLeod. “We are following up on tips that have been given to police.”
Gray says police and search-and-rescue scoured a pond in Spryfield last fall, though police would not confirm this to CTV News.
“I’m not sure what that search entailed or why they specifically went to Roach’s pond,” says Gray.
Devon Marsman, 16, was reported missing to Halifax Regional Police on March 4, 2022. (Halifax Regional Police)
Regardless, she says she has been consumed by the search for her son, often spending her days off work conducting her own search of the pond and the surrounding area.
Family and friends have held their own searches and vigils and plastered posters across the country over the last year.
Gray says she has been all over the Maritimes and even talked to psychics about her son’s disappearance.
Meanwhile, police are asking people who have information about the case to come forward.
“There are people still that haven’t provided information to us and that information could be very important,” says MacLeod.
The Nova Scotia Department of Justice is offering up to $150,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case, under its Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program.
Marsman, now 17, is described by police as African Nova Scotian, about five feet tall and 100 pounds, with blue-green eyes and short dark hair.
He was wearing a hoodie and jeans the last time he was seen.
Anyone with information about his disappearance is asked to call the Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program at 1-888-710-9090, Halifax Regional Police at 902-490-5020, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bathroom break nearly derails $22 million project at city council meeting
A brief break during Wednesday's city council meeting in Saskatoon nearly cost the city dearly.
Do this once a month and extend your life by up to 10 years. No gym required
Research shows that art experiences, whether as a maker or a beholder, transform our biology by rewiring our brains and triggering the release of neurochemicals, hormones and endorphins.
Mackenzie Hughes 'gutted' after falling short at RBC Canadian Open
Mackenzie Hughes had the dream scenario of winning the RBC Canadian Open in his hometown within reach but then it all slipped away.
Motorcycle doing wheelies, weaving in, out of traffic caught on Highway 417
A motorcycle driver is facing charges after being caught on Highway 417 doing wheelies and weaving in and out of traffic, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says.
Oilers advance to Stanley Cup final by beating Stars in Game 6
The Edmonton Oilers rode their special teams and goaltender to victory on Sunday, beating the Dallas Stars 2-1 to win the National Hockey League's Western Conference and earn a berth in the Stanley Cup final against the Florida Panthers.
'Rotten rock': Climate change altering the face of Canadian mountaineering
The Abbot Pass hut stood for decades in a rugged saddle between two iconic peaks, overlooking the limpid turquoise of Banff National Park's Lake Louise — a destination for alpinists from around the world until the ground melted beneath it and forced its closure.
North Korea says it will stop sending trash balloons as South Korea vows strong retaliation
South Korea said Sunday it’ll soon take retaliatory steps against North Korea over its launch of trash-carrying balloons across the border and other provocations.
'The legacy I want to leave:' Mother with Stage 4 cancer advocates for survivors
People around the world are observing National Cancer Survivor Day, an annual celebration held to honour patients who have been through the often difficult and traumatic experience of living with cancer.
Driver missing after vehicle plunges into the Riviere-des-Prairies between Montreal and Laval
Emergency response crews are on the scene Sunday morning after a vehicle plunged into the Riviere des Prairies in Montreal.