Family of missing Winnipeg man looking for closure in search for loved one

The family of missing 81-year-old Earl Moberg said they were hopeful of finding their dad alive but weren't sure if that would happen anymore.

Over a month after his disappearance, the search for Earl Moberg has turned into a recovery operation.

His family is now looking for closure with daily search efforts no longer taking place.

Moberg, 81, was last seen in the River East area in Winnipeg on Dec. 12, 2023. A silver alert was activated by Winnipeg police following his disappearance. His family said he had lived with dementia for several years.

His wife, Brenda Moberg, said her husband would normally leave the house but always turned up or was found.

“I came home from teaching a class and I couldn’t find him at home at all. My son was here. He couldn’t find him, so he went walking around while I drove the car around, thinking he would be close by,” Brenda said. “I kept driving, he kept walking and we couldn’t find him. Eventually, we had to call the police.”

She said she called her daughter, Britt Moberg, who lived in British Columbia and who said it was a distressing moment for her knowing her dad was missing and she couldn’t do much about it.

“It felt really helpless to be provinces over and not being able to actually go out and search myself,” Britt said, adding that she caught a flight to Winnipeg on Dec. 14.

Britt said she and the family got connected with the Bear Clan Patrol, including when her uncle went out to search in Bunn’s Creek Centennial Park. The patrol had since been working with the family to search for Moberg.