'We need answers': Protest held at RCMP detachment for missing N.B. man

Cathy Mitchell Cooper and supporter Carol Madsen outside the Hampton RCMP detachment Saturday morning. (Derek Haggett/CTV News)

A crowd of over 20 people stood in the pouring rain Saturday in front of the RCMP detachment in Hampton, N.B., to bring awareness to a missing person’s case.

David Alexander Mitchell from Whites Mountain, N.B., has been missing since early September.

A crowd of over 20 people stood in the pouring rain Saturday in front of the RCMP detachment in Hampton, N.B., to bring awareness to a missing person’s case.

His mother Cathy Mitchell Cooper was one of the protestors who stood in the rain Saturday to make sure her son is not forgotten, and the case gets the attention she feels it deserves.

“I need answers. I need answers from the RCMP,” said Mitchell Cooper. “It’s 73 days today. Myself, the community are heartbroken. We need answers as to where my son is.”

Mitchell Cooper said the protest was organized in hopes of receiving more information from the RCMP in Hampton who she said is handling her son’s case.

“I need updates. I’m upset and frustrated as many are with the pace of this case with the RCMP,” she said. “I need to bring my son home wherever he is. I need to find him. I need closure. We’re devastated. We miss him.”

Mitchell Cooper said she needs the RCMP’s help in finding her son and she’s counting on them to do so.

Mitchell’s uncle Tony Saulnier also braved the rain and wind on Saturday.

“We feel there is a lack of communication with the family with the police force,” said Saulnier. “We know that they can’t divulge all of their information, but we are getting nothing.”

A photo of Tony Saulnier, David Mitchell's uncle. (Derek Haggett/CTV News)

Saulnier said it’s out of character for his nephew to just disappear and have no contact with his loved ones.

“For this long, absolutely not,” he said. “Not to reach out to his mother, grandfather or even myself in that long of a time, absolutely not.”

CTV News has reached out to the New Brunswick RCMP for comment on Saturday’s protest.

According to a news release sent by the Sussex Detachment of the Southeast District RCMP on Sept. 26, the 48-year-old was last seen at a home in Whites Mountain Road in Whites Mountain on Sept. 9.

Mitchell was reported missing to police on Sept. 25.

The RCMP and Mitchell’s family are concerned for his wellbeing.

He’s described as approximately six-foot-two inches tall and weighs around 200 pounds with hazel eyes and a grey goatee.

It’s not known what he was wearing.

On Nov. 14, an update was provided from the Sussex RCMP saying they are still trying to find Mitchell.

“Police are looking for any new details about his disappearance, even if they seem small. It is important to report anything that may help further the investigation directly to police and not speculate or share information on social media platforms. This information could help locate him,” stated the release.

Police are asking anyone with information on where Mitchell may be to contact them at [phone] or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.