Death of Calgary boy with autism hits home for Conservative MP and party leader

Whenever Mike Lake hears news that a child with autism is missing, he knows how vulnerable they are.

“There’s a need to catch my breath a little bit because it hits close to home right away,” the Conservative MP from Alberta said in a phone interview on Thursday.

Lake and his party’s leader, Pierre Poilievre, are both fathers of children with autism. They are calling for a Canada-wide framework for public alerts when vulnerable children go missing, even when abduction or foul play is not suspected.

Lake’s son, Jaden, is now 30, but he said a child with autism on their own can be in serious danger within minutes.

“He has and has always had a really visual memory. He would know exactly where a swimming pool that he likes is, or a park that he likes is, but the abstract world is a little bit tougher for him to navigate,” Lake said about his son, who is non-verbal.

“So things like danger and understanding traffic, and dangers around water and those kind of things for a lot of kids on the autism spectrum — particularly in that range of the autism spectrum — are really difficult.”

On July 16, an 11-year-old boy named Parker, who had autism and was non-verbal, wandered from his daycare home in Calgary just before lunchtime. He was found dead in a maze of pipes under the city, police announced Wednesday.

A massive search captured the attention of the city. Hundreds of officers and volunteers scouring city blocks, homes, sheds, garages, boats and under patio decks.

In a 10-minute video message shared Thursday by the Calgary police, Parker’s parents thanked all who helped. The audio was recorded before he was found.

“Everyone relates to having a missing child,” the voice of Parker’s mom is heard before she breaks into tears.

“But, for a child from the special needs community, really it’s hard.”

They say he loved music, frolicking in a water pad in their yard and playing on swings inside and outside the house.

It was a difficult search, complicated by Parker’s neurological condition.

Police cautioned that the boy could become more scared if confronted by strangers. Searchers played some of Parker’s favourite Disney songs from patrol vehicles to try to draw him out. Some left out Goldfish crackers. 

The search raised questions about how to alert the public when vulnerable children disappear. Amber Alerts are currently broadcast for children abducted and in serious danger.

In Parker’s case, an Amber Alert was issued as a special exemption on the second day of the search.

Jennifer Ball started a petition to improve the alert system for vulnerable children soon after Parker went missing. 

Parker’s disappearance hit especially close to home, given Ball is the mother of a seven-year-old non-verbal boy with autism. She also lives in the neighbourhood where Parker went missing.

“It could easily be my child. It could easily any of the hundreds of autistic children that I know,” Ball said.

Ball wants a federal alert to be sent out in cases of missing children at risk because of medical, developmental or communication challenges. 

She pointed to Darius Macdougall, 6, and Drihanna Matamona, 7, who also had autism and went missing in Alberta in the past year as other examples of desperate searches that could have been aided with better protocols. 

Matamona had drowned in a pond in Calgary and Macdougall went missing after he didn’t return from a walk with six young relatives while camping with his family in the Crowsnest Pass area.

On her weekend radio talk show, Premier Danielle Smith was asked about a permanent alert category for vulnerable people, including children with autism.

“We have to give law enforcement this additional tool in the event that they need it and we’ll have to make the changes to make that happen in the fall,” Smith said.

The office of Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis said in an emailed statement they “will be considering all options to ensure the safety and well-being of vulnerable children.”

Lake and Poilievre say in a letter to Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski that according to Autism Canada, nearly half of children with autism are prone to wandering. Emergency alert systems, they note, are not properly equipped to respond when a child who has autism is non-verbal or is otherwise vulnerable disappears without evidence of foul play.

Olszewski, in a statement, said she has received the letter and would meet next week with Lake to discuss its proposals and how to strengthen emergency communications.

In Calgary, Mayor Jeromy Farkas announced Friday that City Hall flags will be lowered to half-mast throughout the weekend to honour the boy. The same will be done at fire departments and police stations. Both departments were key in locating the remains that ended the search for Parker.

The Calgary Tower was also lit blue Thursday night in honour of Parker.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 31, 2026.

— With files from Dayne Patterson in Calgary