NQL Case File

Circumstances

Date of Disappearance

October 5, 1956

Notes

In November 1956, four young boys were reported to have run away from Pelican Falls Residential School, a boarding school in Sioux Lookout. Police investigation revealed that a month previously, two other children - brothers Charles and Tom Ombash - had also run away but never been reported missing. The principal had not informed the police or the Indian Affairs offices, which meant too much time had passed before police launched the search. It is thought that the brothers were intended to head towards one of the lakes (Cat Lake, Savant Lake, or Picke Lake). They might have gone by canoe, hitchhiking, or by train. In total, fifteen students would disappear from this school. The children were members of the Cat Lake First Nation and might have been trying to get home. Bones would be found near the school but these were later proven to be non-human. The family later performed a private search for the children and uncovered what were believed to be human bones near an old sulpher mine. The family did not have the remains tested but believe they belonged to the brothers. They buried them near their father back home. Officially, the children are still missing persons. -- Information comes from "Canada's Residential Schools: The History, Part 2, 1939 to 2000: The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, Volume I, Volume 81 of McGill-Queen's Indigenous and Northern Studies" [ISBN#9780773598201], Page 347

Location of the Disappearance or Crime Scene

Boat, Bus Stop, Lake or Riverside, School, Street, Train, Vehicle

Potential Circumstances

Body of Water, Hiking, Hitchhiking, Isolated Location, Long-Distance Trip, Multiple Victims, Playing Outside, Public Transportation, Runaway, Walking, Wild Outdoors, With Others

Vehicle

License Plate

Photo of Vehicle

Suspect

Suspect Description

Photo of Suspect