Potentially dangerous mental health patient AWOL in Toronto – again

The 46-year-old CAMH patient – deemed NCR in 2011 for two sex assaults – has taken off at least the seven times in the last seven years

Chris Doucette
Published Jul 23, 2025  •  Last updated Jul 23, 2025  •  1 minute read
Join the conversation
Potentially dangerous CAMH patient Tesfaye Asefa, 46, has gone AWOL from the mental health facility again and was last seen near Danforth and Jones Aves. on Monday, July 21, 2025.
Potentially dangerous CAMH patient Tesfaye Asefa, 46, has gone AWOL from the mental health facility again and was last seen near Danforth and Jones Aves. on Monday, July 21, 2025. Photo by Handout /Toronto Police

A potentially dangerous CAMH patient who was found not criminally responsible for two sex assaults has taken off once again.

Story continues below

It’s at least the seventh time in the last seven years that Tesfaye Asefa has gone AWOL from the downtown Toronto mental health facility.

Toronto Police say the “elopee” hasn’t been seen since Monday at around 6:30 p.m. and they are appealing to the public for help locating the 46-year-old man.

Asefa was last seen in the area of Danforth and Jones Aves, Const. Viktor Sarudi said in a statement Wednesday.

Asefa has been bound by a Form 49 warrant of committal since he was deemed NCR for two counts sexual assault in 2011.

Read More
  1. CAMH patient Tesfaye Asefa was last seen on Thursday, June 25, 2020. It's the fourth time since 2018 that the 41-year-old, who was found not criminally responsible of two counts of sexual assault in 2011, has gone missing from the facility.
    AWOL AGAIN: Dangerous CAMH detainee disappears for fourth time in two years
  2. An image released Jan. 19, 2023 by Toronto Police of Tesfaye Asefa, 44.
    Man, 44, walks away from CAMH yet again
  3. CAMH detainee Tesfaye Asefa, 41, was last seen Monday, Jan. 27 near Adelaide St. and Shaw St.
    Cops seek missing CAMH detainee

According to previous news reports, Asefa first disappeared from the area of Queen St. W. and Ossington Ave. – where the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health is located – in August 2018.

Story continues below

He vanished again in May 2019 and disappeared again in January 2020 for about two weeks before he was located.

The CAMH patient went AWOL again on June 24, 2020, for the fourth time in less than two years.

Asefa disappeared again on Jan. 18, 2023, and cops announced 12 days later that he had been located.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Loading...
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Police have released an updated photo of Asefa and are warning anyone who spots him to “call 911 immediately” and steer clear of him.

Asefa is described as 5-foot-7 with a heavy build and balding.

Anyone with information regarding the missing man’s whereabouts is asked to call police at 416-808-1400 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

cdoucette@postmedia.com

@sundoucette

Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Trending
Read Next
Page was generated in 0.79656600952148