After missing for almost 20 years, the family of Gregory James from Winnipeg/Gimli is hoping to find him or information on his whereabouts. 

Teresa Boychuk is the niece of Gregory James, born Gregory Cybulski. Born in 1961, the last time James was seen or connected to someone he knew was in 2003/2004. 

"How can this be? Somebody knows something, somebody must. That last conversation could lead me to where he is potentially, maybe he was going down a bad path. People don't just generally disappear," says Boychuk.

In February of 2021, Boychuk ramped up her search for her uncle by making a Facebook page. This was after speaking with the police multiple times.

"The last time he was heard from was when he was arrested for, I believe it was public intoxication. We do have a family home out in Gimli, Man. He also had his own residence in the city [of Winnipeg], according to the police, on Burrows Ave."

What makes the search more difficult is the fact that Boychuk and her mother, James' sister, live in Ontario. 

"It gets kind of tricky because people wonder well why are we just starting to look for him now. The truth to that is we really thought that my uncle was just in the city. Every time my mom would go to Gimli, my other uncles would always just say, 'oh he's in the city.' We assumed he was living his life, doing his thing."

Boychuk's mom typically visits her family in Manitoba once a year. There is also a significant age gap between James and his sister, by eight years. 

On one of the visits, Boychuk's mom went to the police in Winnipeg to see if she could locate her brother. She thought she was filing a police report, but that never happened.

"COVID comes around and she couldn't visit. She called the police to see if there was any update. Somehow in that conversation, it led to, there was no actual police report opened. All these years we thought there was a missing persons file open for him," says Boychuk.

After speaking with the RCMP, Boychuk asked if she could submit her DNA to see if there was a match to a John Doe. She ended up working with the WPS.

"We did a DNA analysis. I was told last week that there was no match, so that's a good thing, hopefully."

In 2005, James' ID's lapsed and were never renewed. 

"On my behalf, I'm not quite sure what to think. I find it hard to believe that someone can just vanish without a trace."

Boychuk is hoping to connect to either the Realtor or people who rented out rooms in her uncle's house to try and connect the dots. In all that time, the house has been sold and a family lives there now. 

"I have a million questions going through my mind all the time," says Boychuck. As far as what she wants her uncle to know if he's out there, she says, "We obviously really care about him, we want to connect and make sure he's well and happy wherever he is. If he needs help in any way, we have so much to offer him."

If anyone knows anything in regards to Gregory James or Gregory Cybulski's whereabouts, please contact Teresa Boychuk by Facebook or calling 1-519-929-9423.