Initial search efforts

At that time, the investigation regarding Michael's disappearance became one of the largest in Canadian history, and still remains one of the largest today. Since Michael disappeared so quickly from a public place, the police quickly classified his case as an abduction rather than a missing child case, and all the detectives from the Victoria Police Department were called in to solve the case.^[6] Hundreds of tips began coming in every hour from across British Columbia and North America, and during that time had to be written on carbon paper and sorted out manually.^[6] The police believe that if they had current technology, such as video surveillance, DNA techniques, and a computer system to sort out tips, the case might have been solved.

Victoria detectives investigated known sex offenders and interviewed anyone who had been in the area around the time of Michael's disappearance,^[5] but were unable to find much information except a witness report that "a man in his late 40s or early 50s" with a brown van was near the playground.^[5] A month after Michael disappeared, the police staged a re-enactment of his disappearance at Blanshard Elementary using a brown van, but were unable to produce any new leads.^[5]

Reported sightings

In 2006, reports of a young man who physically resembled Michael and was living in the Interior of British Columbia since 1990 breathed new life into the case. However, the man was confirmed by DNA testing not to be Michael.^[7]

In early 2009, police in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, found a missing person poster of Michael at the home of Vernon Seitz, 62, who confessed to his psychiatrist that he murdered a child in 1959 when he was 12 and knew of another child killing. Seitz was later found dead by Milwaukee police, apparently from natural causes.^[8]

In 2011, with the 20th anniversary of Michael's disappearance approaching, the police were notified of a man living in Chase, British Columbia, who looked like Michael, but DNA testing later confirmed that he was not Michael.^[9]

In 2013, a man with the username Canuckels posted on the message boards of the Vancouver Canucks' official website claiming that the police were coming for a DNA test. They requested a blood sample from a man in Surrey, British Columbia, who they believed could possibly be Michael.^[10] However, on September 9, the Victoria Police Department stated that the Surrey man was not Michael after DNA testing was done.^[11]

In 2020, a TikToker by the name of "Shangerdanger" reportedly found the shirt Michael was said to be wearing at the time of his disappearance. The rare Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shirt was found submerged underwater, but after Michael's family reached out to the Tiktoker, they saw the shirt and realized it was not the exact same shirt he was wearing during his disappearance. ^[12]

Later developments

As of 2021 Michael's case remains open, with both the police and Michael's family remaining hopeful for an ultimate resolution.^[6] In 2021 the Victoria Police Department released an age-enhanced sketch of Michael and launched an online tip portal, with police constable Cam MacIntyre stating that over 10,000 tips have been received since 1991.^[13][14]