Three-year-old Dylan Ehler disappeared in seconds. His family wants changes to the missing child alert system
Walking through the small bungalow in Truro, N.S., there are signs of three-year-old Dylan Ehler everywhere; his job chart on the wall, his drawings, his photographs. The rambunctious little boy’s bedroom is still set up and waiting for him to come home.
Dylan vanished, almost without a trace from his grandmother’s backyard on May 6, 2020. Every moment since then has been agony for his mother, Ashley Brown and his father, Jason Ehler.
Pointing to a pile of wrapped gifts in the living room, Jason says, “Those are all Dylan’s Christmas presents, birthday presents and my presents. I won't open a present again until he's found. Dylan is still missing. There is no god. I prayed so many times. There's just nothing.”
Anyone who has ever lost sight of their child, even for just a fraction of a second, knows the terror that sets in. Jason and Ashley have been living with that excruciating feeling for the past 18 months. With tears streaming down her face, Ashley says, “We don't know if he was taken. We don't know if he drowned. We don't know if he's alive. We are just stuck in limbo.”
The only evidence ever found is Dylan’s rubber boots, discovered six hours after his disappearance, submerged in a brook behind his grandmother's neighbour's house.
Dylan Ehler vanished, almost without a trace from his grandmother’s backyard on May 6, 2020. (Ehler/Brown family)Despite a six-day official search, and hundreds of volunteer searches since then, not a shred of other evidence has been found. In the absence of answers, conspiracy theories have taken hold. Dozens of online groups started popping up, with amateur sleuths posting vicious rumours about his parents and grandmother. A memorial was destroyed in the belief that Dylan may have been buried there. Jason started getting ransom demands.
“One guy sent a picture of…. Dylan, but it was all photoshopped and looked like he had bruises on his face and stuff. And he wanted three Bitcoin. Another one…. said he had Dylan in the truck and he’d toss him out the window doing 100 kilometres if I didn't send him a couple of thousand dollars.”
The online bullying became so rampant that Jason and Ashley consulted Halifax lawyer Allison Harris.
“Ashley talked about being afraid to go to the grocery store. I know that some of their family members would [have] ‘baby killer’ yelled [at them] as they walked on the road.”
Using Nova Scotia’s anti-cyberbullying law, Harris filed, and won, a court injunction to shut down one Facebook group with more than 17,000 followers.
Truro police have maintained all along that there is no sign of foul play; that the evidence points to the brook where the boots were found. Lepper Brook feeds into the Salmon River, which flows out to the Bay of Fundy, home to some of the highest tides in the world.
Dylan’s parents have been vocal about their anger at the way Truro police and search and rescue conducted their investigation in the critical early stages of the disappearance.
Rescue crews search for a missing three-year-old boy in the waters of the Salmon River in Truro, N.S. on Thursday, May 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew VaughanA W5 investigation reveals a lengthy delay in the public alert system and in the deployment of the Colchester Ground Search and Rescue team. The timeline reveals that the 911 call was made to Truro police at 1:24 p.m. It took two hours and 21 minutes to fully deploy search and rescue teams. A “non-intrusive public alert” wasn’t issued until three hours and eight minutes after Dylan was reported missing. Neither the public alert nor the search and rescue operations could be activated until directed to do so by Truro police.
Dylan’s mother claims police were slow to act and only focused on one theory: that Dylan fell into the water and was swept out to sea.
“They never treated Dylan’s case like a criminal investigation. They just treated it like a search and rescue. I know that they didn't block off any streets. They didn't stop the public from coming into the crime scene of the area that he went missing and they were very late on issuing alerts and getting help. So I think that tunnel vision did have a play in that. Once they found the boots and that was it, that's where he went and essentially the police tell us that we need to accept it. And move on.”
Truro police Chief Dave MacNeil stands by his handling of the case.
“We're very confident in our investigation. It was very thorough. There was no stone left unturned.“ Chief MacNeil insists the case has been investigated as both a potential crime and a search and rescue operation and says the file is still open.
Rescue crews search for a missing three-year-old boy in the waters of the Salmon River in Truro, N.S. on Thursday, May 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew VaughanComplaints that the official investigation was flawed extend beyond Dylan’s family. An online petition, with almost 2,500 signatures, is calling for the creation of a new emergency alert system.
To be called the Ehler Alert, it would facilitate “the rapid distribution of information to the public about young children lost in potentially hazardous environments.”
The petition states: “We believe these circumstances should require an instant public notification... When any child goes missing, time is of the essence and sometimes the assembly of search and rescue efforts takes up too much crucial time in the safe recovery of that child.” petition link.
Since his son vanished in May of 2020, Jason has been relentlessly organizing volunteer searches.
“The only time I feel at peace is when I'm searching for him, I can breathe. When I'm not, I can't breathe….I have to find him either way. I'm never going to stop because he's my only child. He's my everything.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Local Spotlight
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
Relocated seal returns to Greater Victoria after 'astonishing' 204-kilometre trek
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Ottawa barber shop steps away from Parliament Hill marks 100 years in business
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
'How much time do we have?': 'Contamination' in Prairie groundwater identified
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.