Summary based on the NamUs case record (can2013000053) and
1 other sourceIn the vastness of Lake Ontario, on a bulk laker making its way through the water, 59-year-old Gary Alfred Charlton, a male crew member, was last seen in the early hours of October 20, 2010. The vessel was in the vicinity of Cobourg, Ontario, at approximately 4:10 a.m. when fellow crew members last saw him. His absence was not noted until later that day when he failed to report for his noon shift.
This alarming discovery prompted an immediate response, setting in motion a search and an investigation into his sudden and unexplained disappearance.
Concerned for their missing colleague, the crew members initiated a thorough search of the large vessel. The Ontario Provincial Police were called to the Iroquois Locks in Iroquois, Ontario, by the ship's captain to report the situation. Law enforcement joined the crew in their efforts, meticulously combing through the bulk laker in the hopes of finding any trace of Gary Charlton. Despite their exhaustive search, there was no sign of the missing crewman. At the time of his disappearance, he was described as a Caucasian male, standing 67 inches tall and weighing 165 pounds, with a slender build, brown hair, and hazel eyes. He was believed to be wearing orange overalls.
The investigation into Gary Alfred Charlton's disappearance has left many questions unanswered. He vanished from a contained environment, a ship at sail, making his case particularly perplexing. The official inquiry, handled by the Stormont Dundas and Glengarry OPP, has yet to yield a resolution, and the case remains unsolved. The absence of any definitive evidence or subsequent sightings has created a void for his family and loved ones, leaving them to wonder what transpired on that October day. The overview of this case is one of a sudden and mysterious disappearance from a moving vessel, a scenario that has left investigators with a complex and challenging puzzle to solve, and a family without answers.Last Seen: Oct 20, 2010
