Phyllis Fleury's one-person campaign to find her son received some help on Friday.
Donning T-shirts displaying a photograph of the missing teen, about 50 people attended in a walk midday Friday to raise awareness of the disappearance of Colten Fleury.
He was 16 years old when he was last seen a year ago.
He had just moved out of a group home to live with his mother at the Downtown Motel on Dominion Street. But one day later, on May 3, 2018, he walked out and has not been seen since.
"When he woke up at 7 o'clock in the morning and stepped out of that door, he had something to do," she said. "Nobody wakes up at seven in the morning and just runs out the door."
Since then, she has waged a determined effort to solve the mystery of Colten's disappearance and, if all works out, reunite with him. Much of that search has been carried out in Vancouver's Downtown East Side where she's scoured the streets on seven different occasions, carrying a photograph of Colten and handing out business cards with contact information in case someone comes across him.
Indeed, once the walk had ended, Phyllis was to be on her way to Vancouver once again to act on a tip she received the night before.
Alex Ovien, who works at the group home where Fleury had been staying, organized the walk relying on social media to get the word out.
"We still care about him, we still love him, we still want to find him," said Ovien, who described Colten as quiet but engaging.
The walkers gathered at Canada Games Plaza and split into two groups, one heading toward the downtown and the other towards the area around Value Village.
Phyllis stressed that if her son is found, he won't be going back to a group home.
"I'm still out there and I'm not going to stop until I find out what's happened with my son," she vowed as she fought back tears. "A year is too long and I'm still not going to quit."
Fleury is described as First Nations, 173 cm (5'8") tall and weighing 54 kg (120 lbs) with brown eyes and short brown hair. He was wearing a red hoodie, black jeans and black and red runners and had a black hoodie with him when he was last seen in Prince George.
Anyone who knows where Fleury may be is asked to contact the Prince George RCMP at (250) 561-3300 or to anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca.
