Toronto Island Missing Person Rescued

Sergeant Sean Thrush, Constables Ibnul Chowdhury and Stefan Grujic helped save a man experiencing a crisis. In 2024, Constables Ibnul Chowdhury and Stefan Grujic, of 55 Division, were assigned to look for a missing person whose family reported had attempted to die by suicide only a week earlier. The officers reached out and talked to the missing man on the phone. He described a park location that led them to believe he was in 22 Division, but a subsequent comprehensive search using a dog, drone and multiple officers failed to find him. Constable Chowdhury, having spoken to the man on the phone, believed that he may, in fact, be on the Toronto Island based on the information provided. A subsequent ping to his cellphone confirmed he was on the island. As a result, the officers reached out to the Marine Unit to shuttle them over to the Island. They were joined by Police Dog Services Sergeant Sean Thrush and his Police Dog Rebus, who volunteered to join the search party along with Marine officers. Their hunch, bolstered by solid police work paid off. As they searched there was a very low call for help coming from a heavily wooded area. Pushing through dense brush they were able to find the man curled in the fetal position, buried deep in tall grass along a fence line. Paramedics arrived to take care of the man, who, it was later discovered, had taken prescription pills in a suicide attempt. Sergeant Sean Thrush, and Constables Ibnul Chowdhury and Stefan Grujic are commended for their tenacious work to save a man’s life. Had they not persisted in their efforts to locate this individual, the outcome may likely have been tragic.