Dozens of searchers combed parts of Winnipeg on Good Friday for a missing Ukrainian refugee last seen over two months ago.

Anatolii Ishchenko, 30, was reported last seen on Jan. 22 on Pembina Highway, between Markham Road and Bison Drive, police previously said.

The search party began at St. Vital Park and sent 11 different groups to fan out in and around the area where Ishchenko was last seen. A Dakota drum song was played and a priest led a prayer before searchers dispersed.

Oksana Burchak, an organizer of the search who also knew Ishchenko, says the 30-year-old was seeking treatment for panic attacks at the Victoria Hospital on the day he was last seen but left the hospital around noon, before he could see a doctor.

“It was a very cold day. It was –30 C [but felt] like –48, and that’s why we have concerns,” she told CBC News.

Burchak said Ishchenko was struggling with his new life in Winnipeg. His mother, father and brother are still in Ukraine, and the 30-year-old was laid off from his job at a local manufacturing company just six days before he went missing.

Ishchenko’s phone became unresponsive about two to three hours after he left the hospital, according to Burchak. He left his belongings, identification documents and car behind.

“I’m not optimistic, I’m realistic,” she said. “With all the information we currently have, I really, really hope we will find him and a miracle will happen.” 

Yevgeniya Tatarenko, another organizer of the search, said about 100 people were expected to show up Friday.

“It’s not just the Ukrainian community,” she said. “We’re just blown away by the response of so many people.”

While she was heartened by the turnout, Tatarenko said no one “wants to be in this situation.”

“Our mission today is to bring Anatolii back home to his mom.”

Tatarenko said Manitoba’s Ukrainian community is particularly affected by Ishchenko’s disappearance, as he was “alone in a new country without friends, family, [and] going through so many struggles that a lot of Ukrainians are going through right now.”

Dzmitry Yushkevich, who knew Ishchenko from work, was part of a group searching along the Red River on Friday.

He said he wanted to take part in the search to help the organizers cover more ground.

“We try to help each other if somebody goes through a hard situation,” he said. “I have an opportunity to help.”

‘Great to see a lot of people’

Many Ukrainians who didn’t know Ishchenko came because they wanted to help.

Oleksandr Mentishynov, a Ukrainian newcomer who’s been in Winnipeg for three years, said he didn’t know Ishchenko but joined the search party after learning about it on social media.

“That’s terrible,” he said. “Especially when someone’s missing and maybe his friends and family don’t know anything, so yeah, that’s sad.”

Mentishynov was encouraged by the number of people who showed up on Friday, saying the search is not important just for Ukrainians, but for all Winnipeggers.

“I believe we should help each other.”

Anastasiia Sapronova, another Ukrainian newcomer who didn’t know Ishchenko but learned of the search party through social media, said she wanted to come to the search because she sometimes worries that no one would look for her if she went missing in Winnipeg.

“People who’ve come [here] alone, without family and support, we should be helpful for each other,” she said.

“It’s great to see a lot of people, because everyone wants to help in this case.”

Ischenko is described as being six feet and one inch tall, with a thin build, brown hair and brown eyes, police said.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the missing persons unit at 204-986-6250.