For over a year now, Michael Keetch’s family has yearned for answers.
The Waasis, N.B. man was 48 when he was last seen on April 12, 2025, and despite the recovery of his submerged vehicle, his wallet and even his dog, his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
“We’d like to get closure,” his sister, Anita Fougere, told Global News.
“We’d like to be able to put him to rest beside our dad. And we’d like to have some kind of an answer as to what happened.”
Keetch was last seen on Nevers Road in Waasis and was reported missing on April 30, 2025.
Fougere said RCMP came knocking on her door one day asking if she knew where her brother was, because he had missed some appointments and was reported missing.
“It was when I found out that Tango was at the SPCA that I knew something was definitely wrong because there’s no way Michael would be anywhere without his dog.”
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RCMP say Keetch’s vehicle was found submerged at the mouth of the Keswick River in June, but a ground and underwater search at the time didn’t yield any more answers.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Hans Ouellette says it’s believed the Hyundai Elantra is connected to Keetch’s disappearance.
Ouellette says police are concerned for Keetch’s well-being, but wouldn’t say whether foul play is suspected.
“Every possibility is being investigated into the situation on what happened to him and I think that’s the big question: what did happen to Mr. Keetch?” he said.
Fougere says previous searches haven’t found much, and she knows RCMP are stretched thin when it comes to missing persons cases.
“For the past eight or nine months, we’ve just been waiting for tips from the public. His car was found by a kayaker, his dog was found by a passerby, and his wallet was found by fishermen,” she said.
“So, we haven’t seen any actual movement from any of the searching.”
That’s why Fougere has organized another search this weekend in the area where Keetch’s wallet was found near Southhampton Junction, with the help of her friend, Melanie Beauchemin.
“It’s really just you walk and you look around and if anything looks like it doesn’t belong to the forest, then you just let us know that you found it,” Beauchemin said.
Ultimately, Fougere hopes they get the answers they’ve been waiting for.
“I miss him showing up out of the blue and saying, ‘Let’s go for coffee’ and just us spending the next three hours driving around New Brunswick, talking,” she said.
Keetch is described as being six feet two inches tall and about 253 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair.
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