UPDATE, March 30:
The Newmarket man missing since Friday has been found dead, York Regional Police said.
Officers searching for the man located his body on Tuesday, March 29 at about 4 p.m. in the Newmarket canal off of Bayview Parkway.
The identity of the man found was confirmed to be 37-year-old Cher Hao Wong, who was last seen by his family on Friday, March 25.
Police said the cause of death is not considered to be suspicious.
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A York Regional Police search and rescue team was scouring Newmarket's trail system and waterways in the search for a man who has been missing since Friday.
Cher Hao Wong, 37, was last seen by his family when he left their home on Bristol Road at 5:30 p.m. on March 25. He was later spotted in the area of Main and Timothy streets at 9:45 p.m. that same night. He hasn’t been seen since.
Police were searching in the area of Main and Davis Drive yesterday, as well as the wooded areas to the north.
“The community can expect a police presence during the search. Land owners in the area are asked to check their property,” a Twitter post said.
“There were concerns and as a result the investigators brought out a search and rescue team and there was a command post that was set up in the area,” Const. Maniva Armstrong said.
The command post was located near the Tannery at 465 Davis Dr. and the search included the trail area, forested area and waterways, Armstrong said, however, she could not confirm whether that included Fairy Lake.
She said this kind of search and rescue effort is not standard for all missing person cases unless they have received a tip or other information that warrants it.
“It was prompted by some information that they learned that the missing person had been in that area,” she said.
There is no further update from investigators at this time.
Wong — also known as Charles — is originally from Singapore and has been in Canada for six months. He is familiar with the Newmarket area and the public transit system, police said.
He is described as a South Asian male, 5 fee 7 inches tall, weighing about 160 pounds. He has short black hair and brown eyes and was clean shaven. He was last seen wearing a dark blue winter coat, brown boots, black pants, a blue long sleeve shirt, and prescription eyeglasses.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the York Regional Police #1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7141 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-tips or leave an anonymous tip online.
