Manitoba mother fears worst after learning son went missing following December bar fight

A mother is desperate for clues after learning that her son is not in police custody as she thought he was, and has not been seen since a late December bar fight in northern Manitoba.

Charlene Constant last spoke to her 22-year-old son Jayden Mercredi in October. The two were not on good terms, but Mercredi had been in regular communication with his brother during the last few months. When she heard that had come to an end, Constant thought it was because Mercredi was in jail.

Over the last week, though, word has been spreading on social media that Mercredi has been missing for months.

"The worst part about it is not knowing where he is. I'm doing whatever I can do to help the investigators," Constant said.

She learned that her son took a bus from Winnipeg to The Pas sometime between Dec. 20-22 and went to the Alouette Hotel the night he arrived. She heard rumours Mercredi got into a fight at the bar that night.

"I know the cops were called there and there was an altercation outside," she said.

"I thought he got picked up that night. I really believed he did, until I saw these posts saying he's missing."

Mercredi, who usually kept in touch with his brother via social media, has been inactive on his Facebook account for a while.

His bank account and phone have also been inactive, Constant said.

"All those things are straight red flags. Somebody had to be at the bar that night."

Constant, who now lives in Brandon, is prepared to go to The Pas to search for her son.

"It's not right not to hear from him," she said. "I'm just thinking the worst and I don't want to."

The family reached out to RCMP, who confirmed Mercredi wasn't in custody, said Constant.

"I've been having the worst time. It's taking a really big toll on me as a mother. I just can't handle it."