In the late fall of 2015, concern began to grow for 35-year-old Yvon Shawn Guignard, a man known to his loved ones as Shawn. Originally from St. Catharines, Ontario, he had moved to northern Manitoba during the summer of 2015 with hopes of finding work as a skilled welder. His family last had contact with him in late November of that year. The last confirmed sighting of Shawn was in the early morning hours of November 28, 2015, in Thompson, Manitoba.
At the time of his disappearance, he was described as being six-foot-one and approximately 165 pounds, with auburn hair and blue eyes. He was reportedly last seen wearing a light brown or bright yellow construction-style winter jacket with reflective material and black ski pants.
Shawn's move to Manitoba had unfortunately not led to the employment he sought, and he had been living a transient lifestyle, at times staying in his vehicle or at homeless shelters in the Lynn Lake and Thompson areas. His family has shared that Shawn lives with schizophrenia and they believe he had stopped taking his medication around the time he vanished. His mother noted that while everyone calls him Shawn, he sometimes refers to himself by his given name, Yvon, when he is unwell. On the morning he was last seen, reports indicate there was an altercation at the Thompson General Hospital, which led to police being called to have him removed from the premises. In the period just before he went missing, Shawn had made several attempts to give his personal vehicle away, which was located after he was reported missing.
The days turned into weeks with no word, and Shawn's family grew increasingly desperate for answers. A missing persons report was officially filed on December 9, 2015. While the official last sighting was in November, a possible, unconfirmed report surfaced from a witness who claimed to have seen Shawn walking along a highway in the direction of Flin Flon, Manitoba, on December 17, 2015. Another potential lead came from a taxi driver in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, who believed he may have given a ride to a man resembling Shawn around Christmas of that year. Despite these leads and his family's tireless efforts, including offering a reward and creating a Facebook page for tips, his whereabouts remain unknown. The investigation into Yvon Shawn Guignard's disappearance remains an open case, a quiet and lingering mystery that began with a search for work and ended in a family's prolonged and heart-wrenching search for a loved one.Last Seen: Nov 28, 2015
