‘A void that will never heal’: Cape Breton man who found missing son’s remains helping in search for other man

Searchers in Cape Breton spent the Easter weekend combing the woods for a man who has been missing since late March.

Helping the search effort was a man who knows the pain of looking for a loved one during the holidays all too well.

“This time last Easter I was in the same predicament,” said Ken MacDonald of Sydney. “I was searching through the power lines looking for Justin.”

Ken and his friend Steve Nugent were searching in the woods in the Moose Trail area of Morrison Road on Easter Sunday.

They were looking for 30-year-old Connor MacDonald of Sydney, who has not been seen since leaving his Queen Street apartment at about 4:30 pm on March 26.

Connor is described at six-foot-four and 130 pounds

In a social media update over the weekend, Cape Breton Regional Police said they found Connor’s truck on Morrison Road and that he recently purchased a green puffer-style jacket that he could be wearing.

They are also asking people to check their properties, sheds and cabins.

It’s a message Ken is echoing.

“Keep your eye out for Connor,” he said. “If you travel in this area, or if anybody has got video cameras or if there are any hunters out this area that might have trail cams, kind of take a look.”

Ken’s son Justin MacDonald went missing back in July 2024.

Nearly a year later, in late May 2025, he and Nugent found his son’s remains in a wooded area along Morley Road in Sydney Forks, N.S.

Three men have been charged in connection with Justin’s death.

Now, the still-grieving father is hoping to use his experience with a large-scale search to help another family.

“First and foremost, I had a lot of people that helped me, that stepped up to the plate when Justin was missing,” Ken said, adding that he searched in same area along the Morrison Road when his own son was missing. “We learned that there is a lot of trails and a lot of gravel pits and they could be anywhere. So I just learned to look for what’s not supposed to be there and look for the unexpected and that’s what we’ve been doing.”

Cape Breton Search and Rescue have also spent days combing the area.

At the beginning of the long weekend there was not as much snow on the ground, but since a storm system came through Cape Breton Friday night into Saturday, the ground has been snow-covered.

The winter-like conditions have made search efforts all the more difficult.

“It’s terrible, because you don’t know what’s underneath the snow,” Ken said.

Ken added that the pain of having a family member missing, particularly during a holiday weekend is one he knows intimately.

“You can’t describe it,” he said. “It’s a void that will never heal, and right now I’d like to fill their void by giving them some information.”

Police asking anyone with information to contact the Cape Breton Regional Police Service at 902-563-5151.

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