Danny Ballantyne was just nine years old when his dad Drew Ballantyne went missing. He said he has fond memories of playing basketball and soccer with his dad.
“I liked how he was funny and I liked how we used to bike around,” Danny said. “I liked how he used to take me to stores and buy me clothes, and protect me from all dangerous stuff.”
Drew Ballantyne was 34 years old when he was last seen in June 2022.
His family is from Pelican Narrows, which is part of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in northeast Saskatchewan. They have made a 10-foot sign with two photos of Drew that sits in front of their house on 15th Street West in Prince Albert to encourage people to look for him.
“Bring my dad home. Don’t keep secrets from us and tell the truth,” Danny said.
Drew’s sister, Carmelita Ballantyne, said their mom Loretta Ballantyne led search efforts, but she died in October 2024 without finding out what happened to her son.
“My brother’s life matters. Now, it’s hard that my mom is not here because she was the one that always worked on it,” Carmelita said.
She said they’ve put up posters and talked to people in Prince Albert and other communities who might have seen Drew and have information.
“My mom never gave up hope searching for my brother. We drove all around Prince Albert, within Prince Albert, Nipawin, Narrows Hill, La Ronge and Big River. All the tips we had, we forwarded to the police.”
The family said they’ve searched many back roads, following up on tips and looking for human remains.
“There’s a whole bunch of stories we heard on how they got rid of him,” said Drew’s father Roy Ballantyne.
Roy said he fears that Drew may have been the victim of gang violence.
At the time of his disappearance, Drew was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for violating the conditions of his statutory release from federal prison.
Drew’s sister Carol-Ann Ballantyne said police didn’t take the family’s initial report seriously.
“‘He’s just on the run,’ is what they said, because his parole got suspended, so they didn’t really care. The city police didn’t really care,” Carol-Ann said.
She said on the evening of June 28, 2022, she dropped Drew off at a home in Prince Albert’s West Flat neighbourhood, in the 800 block of 14th Street West.
She said she waited up for him to call her for a ride home, but he never called. He had made plans to meet their mother at noon the next day, but he never showed up.
“I was the last one of my family to see my brother,” Carol-Ann said.
Pelican Narrows family continues search for Drew Ballantyne
The Prince Albert Police Service said Drew was reported missing by family on July 1, 2022.
“Through further investigation, we were able to identify that Drew had made his way to Saskatoon and was last seen in Saskatoon on June 30. He was dropped off by a taxi on the 1400 block of Avenue D North,” said Insp. Lisa Simonson with the police service’s criminal investigation division.
She said the police service is actively investigating the disappearance and “remains committed” to finding answers for the family.
Police interviewed 23 witnesses and followed up on 22 leads, Simonson said. They’ve looked at his phone records, social media activity and bank records.
“We need the public’s help. If anybody has information in relation to Drew’s disappearance, we encourage them to come forward, even if they have already spoken to the police. Maybe they remember some additional information that they didn’t initially share,” said Simonson.
Simonson said people can report tips anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Police described Ballantyne as five feet 11 inches tall and 210 pounds, with brown eyes and black, shoulder-length hair. He wears a ponytail or braid. He has tattoos on his body, neck and arms.
He was last seen wearing a black ball cap, black Adidas track suit with white stripes, and running shoes with red on top and a black Nike logo on the side.
The family has hired a private investigator and said they believe people know what happened to Drew — they just need to report what they know.
“My mom would always say, ‘Remember his face. Remember his smile. He is missed. He is loved. He is Drew,’” Carol-Ann said.
