A Community’s Anxious Vigil: The Search for Keira McKay-Matte
In the quiet neighbourhood near Welland Avenue and Cushman Road in St. Catharines, a family’s world has been frozen in a state of agonizing suspense. Since 1:15 p.m. on Friday, November 28, 2025, 14-year-old Keira McKay-Matte has been missing. With each passing hour, the concern for her welfare deepens, transforming a family’s private worry into a community-wide mission. The Niagara Regional Police are actively investigating, but the most powerful tool in this search is a watchful public. Keira’s family is living every parent’s worst nightmare, clinging to the hope that someone, somewhere, has seen the girl in the black jacket and Converse shoes.
More Than a Description: The Girl Behind the Glasses
Keira is not just a missing person’s bulletin. She is a young woman with long dark brown hair and glasses, a daughter whose absence has left a deafening silence in her home. She is a teenager with a unique personality, dreams for the future, and a place in her family that no one else can fill. Her parents are holding onto the small details—the way she might have arranged her room, her favorite snacks in the cupboard, the sound of her voice. The specific description of her all-black outfit—the spring jacket, spandex pants, and distinctive black-and-white Converse shoes—is now burned into their minds. They are pleading with the public to see beyond the description and recognize a whole person, a beloved child who needs to be found and brought back to the safety of her home.
The Critical Hours: Why Every Second Counts
The circumstances of Keira’s disappearance are deeply troubling. She was last seen at her home, a place that should represent safety, and has not been in contact since. The Niagara Regional Police have classified her as a missing person and are dedicating resources to the case, but the urban and suburban landscape of St. Catharines presents countless places a young person could be. She could be in a public library, a mall, a park, or may have traveled to a neighbouring community. The “why” behind her disappearance is unknown, which only amplifies the fear for her safety. In these critical first days, public vigilance is paramount. A single sighting by a vigilant citizen can provide the crucial lead that narrows the search and brings Keira home.
You Can Help: Be the Eyes That Bring Her Home
Keira’s family and the police are making a direct appeal to you. Your awareness is their greatest asset. Please look closely at her photograph. Commit her face, her glasses, and her clothing to memory. As you go about your day in St. Catharines and the wider Niagara region, be mindful of your surroundings. Check your backyard playhouses, your apartment building lobbies, and any secluded areas on your property. If you have any information, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem, you are urged to contact the Niagara Regional Police Service immediately at 905-688-4111 and reference the incident number 2025-138872. Do not assume someone else has already called. Share her photo and information across your social media networks. Your one moment of effort could be the key that unlocks this mystery and guides a frightened teenager back into the arms of her family.