Police add airplane in search for missing rugby player

Regina police are expanding the search area to surrounding rural areas for a University of Regina rugby player who has been missing for more than three weeks.

Promise (Max) Chukwudum was last seen at a bar, then a house party on Marshall Crescent before he disappeared in the early morning hours of Nov. 17.

Police are now using an airplane to check fields, farms and rural areas surrounding the city to help locate the 19-year-old.

Chukwudum’s sister came down from Saskatoon and his father recently flew to Regina from Nigeria to help organize search parties and rallies to find him.

In an interview on Gormley on Monday, Police Chief Evan Bray said there a lot of people now helping with the search.

“We’ve got a lot of resources on this, we’re working with community partners, we’re working with community advocates, friends and family who can help us with searching,” he said.

Police said it’s possible Chukwudum left the house party on foot, facing temperatures in the low –20s C and he may have taken shelter in an outbuilding or unused vehicle.

They continue to ask people in the surrounding area to check their property for any sign of the missing rugby player. It’s also possible someone may have offered him a ride, police.

An emailed press release from Regina Police added that Chukwudum is on an international student visa and doesn’t know the city well. He has friends but no relatives here.

He’s described as five feet, 11 inches tall, weighing about 240 pounds with a medium build and short brown hair. He was last seen wearing a dark sweatshirt, light sweatpants and a dark toque.

Anyone with information about where he might be is asked to contact Regina Police Service at 306-777-6500 or their local police agency or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.