On August 9, 2001, 43-year-old Dawn Eva Carisse vanished from the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital in Ontario, leaving behind a life marked by a deep love for her children and a struggle with her health. A mother of three, Dawn was described as a loving and energetic woman who had once aspired to be a welder. Her life took a drastic turn on Christmas Eve of 1991 when a blood clot caused a brain injury that resulted in severe short-term memory loss and disorientation.
This necessitated her admission to the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital, where she required significant supervision. Despite her memory issues, Dawn was known for her pleasant personality and wit. Her overwhelming desire to be with her children, who lived in the Kirkland Lake area, was a constant and powerful motivation. This yearning led to nine previous instances of her leaving the hospital grounds, each time being found and returned. Her determination was so well-known among staff that she sometimes referred to herself as 'Dawn the running bear,' warning that when she ran, no one would be able to catch her.
The day she disappeared, Dawn was noticed to be absent around 5:00 p.m. when patients gathered for dinner. Hospital staff immediately initiated a search of the hospital grounds and the nearby Highway 11, a route she had been known to frequent in her past attempts to hitchhike and see her children. When their initial search proved unsuccessful, the hospital reported her missing to the North Bay Police Service the following morning. At the time of her disappearance, Dawn was wearing a long, short-sleeved pink dress with a faint white floral pattern, a buttoned front, and a drawstring that crisscrossed at the back. She was also wearing brownish-red, closed-toed sandals and may have been carrying a small, dark-colored duffel bag. An investigation began, involving interviews with staff, family, and friends, and alerts were sent out to the public and other police services.
In the aftermath of her disappearance, police received two unconfirmed sightings of Dawn, but these leads did not result in her discovery. It is strongly believed that she may have been attempting to travel to Kirkland Lake to see her children. Another possibility is that she was headed to Sudbury, as she was aware that her children's guardians were planning to move there. The investigation into her disappearance has been complicated by certain discrepancies; for instance, it's now believed she may have left through a back door in a craft room earlier than initially reported by police. Shockingly, it was also discovered that her personal belongings, which were supposed to be secured in a locked room, were also missing. Dawn Eva Carisse is one of six patients who went missing from the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital between 1966 and its closure. Her case remains an unsolved missing person investigation, a painful ambiguity for a family left with unanswered questions and the memory of a mother's relentless efforts to return to her children.Last Seen: Aug 9, 2001
