Family of missing Irishtown man praying for his safe return home
The family of a missing Irishtown man says it's unusual for him to be out of touch with them for so long.
Adam Grant Howard, 27, was last seen walking on Route 115 toward Moncton around 11 a.m. on Jan. 6. He was reported missing to RCMP on Jan. 8.
"He's got a mom, he's got sisters that love him very much," said Sandra Slater, Adam's mom.
Howard's family travelled to New Brunswick to help search for him. His mother, Sandra Slater, came from Las Vegas, NV; his sister, Amy Howard, came from Michigan; and his other sister, Christine Howard, travelled from London, Ont.
Together, the family drove from Ontario to New Brunswick during a snowstorm to look for Adam. They arrived in Moncton around 3:30 a.m. on Monday.
Slater last spoke with him over the phone on Dec. 4, when he had asked for money, which she wired to him. On Dec. 31, the mother and son wished one another a happy New Year through text messages.
On Jan. 3, she received a message from him that read, "love you."
"That's the last I heard from him."
Adam 'seemed himself'
Slater said her son is charming, polite and has a big heart.
He's athletic and played soccer, football, hockey and lacrosse at different times in his life.
Adam was working at Strict Union Tattoo and Piercing, a barber shop and tattoo parlour in Moncton, which closed around Christmas.
Adam also spoke with his sister Christine over video chat a few days before he went missing. The two siblings talked about the holidays and how he was going to visit her in London this year.
"He seemed himself."
Christine has been messaging Adam's friends on Facebook to see if they know anything about her brother. She has contacted 84 people since he went missing.
In a Facebook post earlier this month, Christine said her brother is a drug addict and people shouldn't try to scare him if they see him.
Adam's sister Amy is thankful for the support the family has received since arriving in Moncton.
"A lot of my friends here in Canada have gone out of their way to share my post … people have offered to come out and help us pass flyers," she said before starting to cry.
Family scanning the streets
Adam is six feet and two inches tall and weighs 170 pounds. He has blue eyes, dark brown hair and a beard.
He also has tattoos on his chest and arms, including a tattoo of a rose made out of money on his right hand and the word "boss fade" across his knuckles. The word "trust" is tattooed on the back of his neck. He was last seen wearing black jeans, a black jacket, black shoes and a black Toronto Blue Jays baseball cap.
His mother and sisters have been scanning the streets handing out posters and checking homeless shelters for Adam.
Police have followed up on several leads to locate him, but have been unsuccessful. In a news release, RCMP said Adam has connections in Halifax, N.S. because he lived there between 2018 and 2019.
