‘I have hope’: Mother of missing N.B. man pushed for Major Crime Unit to investigate

A relative of David Alexander Mitchell, who has been missing for more than a year, speaks with CTV News Atlantic.

Cathy Mitchell Cooper, the mother of a New Brunswick man who has been missing for more than a year, has been advocating for the RCMP’s Major Crime Unit to get involved in the case, and now they are looking into the disappearance.

“It’s been a very, very difficult, heartbreaking, frustrating year, but today I have hope,” she said.

Cooper’s son, 48-year-old David Alexander Mitchell, was last seen at a Whites Mountain Road residence in Whites Mountain, N.B., on Sept. 9, 2025. He was reported missing more than two weeks later.

This month, the Major Crime Unit announced it would be taking over the investigation.

“This is a case that involves several unanswered questions in relation to the events leading to and following the disappearance of David Mitchell,” said Cpl. Matthew Leblanc-Smith of the New Brunswick RCMP in a news release. “The Southeast District RCMP has worked diligently on this file over the last year, and our Major Crime Unit will continue this work to ensure all avenues are explored to solve this case.”

Family and friends have been advocating for Mitchell’s case for the past year. Last November his mother participated in a protest outside a Hampton RCMP detachment to bring attention to the matter.

“I don’t know what they know, if they know something we don’t,” Mitchell Cooper said. “I pushed for Major Crime for a long time. I have been very vocal.”

Mitchell Cooper thanked the people who participated in the protests and sent messages of support to her.

“The community has never let me down,” she said. “They give me the strength, they give me hope.

“I will fight for my son. I am one of those mama bears that plans to keep on going.”

David Mitchell is described as standing six-foot-two and weighing roughly 180 pounds. He has hazel eyes, a grey goatee and grey hair.

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Josh Smith and Derek Haggett

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