Family of missing Winnipeg senior Earl Moberg calls for changes to silver alerts

The thought of preventing another family from going through what hers has – and still is – gives Britt Moberg the strength to keep going.

Britt’s father Earl Moberg, who suffers from dementia and was known for wandering, has been missing since December 2023. The then 81-year-old was last seen near McIvor Mall in Winnipeg’s North Kildonan neighbourhood.

The family is advocating for silver alerts, a notification system sent to people’s phones in the nearby area after a senior or any vulnerable person goes missing. It’s something the Mobergs have been discussing since Earl went missing.

BACKGROUND: Family still searching for senior who went missing one year ago in Winnipeg

“I think it’s really just coming out of love for my dad, and compassion for other people, and really just a fear that this can happen again to somebody else,” Britt told CityNews via Zoom from her home in Victoria, B.C.

“The community definitely gives me a lot of strength, of support that we’ve had from the public. All the people who have come out to searches, the people who have signed the petition, that just continues to give us strength and is really helpful.”

Earl Moberg, who was described by his family as an avid walker, wandered off on Dec. 12, 2023. The cancer and polio survivor, who taught for many years in northern Manitoba, has not yet been found.

READ MORE: Disappearance of Winnipeg man while in homecare was preventable: review

In the days following his disappearance, Winnipeg police urged area residents to check their garages, outbuildings and video surveillance for any sign of Moberg. They said they investigated many tips about possible sightings.

Meanwhile the community banded together for searches, which all proved unsuccessful.

“It’s hard to imagine how long this has gone on for, where we actually haven’t found my father,” Britt said.

Earl’s wife Brenda Moberg believes cell phones, which are used by 90 per cent of Canadians, hold the key to improving how people are notified about silver alerts. The Moberg family’s petition to get alerts sent to people’s phones – which ran from Oct. 22, 2024, until Jan. 20, 2025 – garnered nearly 4,700 signatures from across Canada.

“The petition was for a silver alert that would notify people in the area that the senior went missing,” said Brenda, who always keeps her cellphone with her in case anyone calls with news about her husband.

“I know a lot of people are worried about alert fatigue, sort of, and are worried that they’ll be getting this alarm constantly.”

To help prevent that fatigue, Brenda says notifications would be location-based to their home neighbourhoods or where they were last seen, because when seniors wander they don’t typically travel far.

“We feel the silver alert may have helped Earl if the silver alert was issued immediately,” she said. “Right now, the silver alert only goes out to the media.”

“The information about my dad being missing, it just didn’t reach enough people quickly enough, unfortunately, to find him alive,” added Britt.

Britt says the current notification for silver alerts has a huge gap. When family members tried to post news articles about Earl’s disappearance, many social media platforms removed the post.

“Because it wasn’t from the Winnipeg police, it was taken down,” she said.

The Mobergs are now waiting for North Kildonan’s Member of Parliament, Raquel Dancho, to present the petition in April.