When 6-year-old Howard Newell went missing from Little River Harbour, Nova Scotia, the search for the little boy made national news and became the largest search in Yarmouth County history.
Saturday 22 January 1955: Howard Newell, his uncle, and other companions entered a mile-square woodlot, but when the group emerged from the woods at noon, Howard was not with them. The group reported that Howard had planned to take a shortcut home. He never arrived and has not been seen since. A search for the young boy began immediately.
Sunday 23 January 1955: By Sunday, 500 men were in the woods searching. The Little River, which cuts through the search area was dragged.
Monday 24 January 1955: The search group doubled to 1000 men with the addition of two busloads of sailors from the Cornwallis naval base. The searchers also included firemen, fishermen, farmers, students from the Bethel Bible College, church groups, and men who worked with the boy's father, Howard.
Walking two feet apart from one other, a thousand men scoured the mile-square woodlot and crisscrossed it again, but did not find a trace of the youngster.
Tuesday 25 January 1955: Small footprints, partly covered by wisps of snow, were discovered about two miles from where young Howard Newell was last seen. His father was convinced his son left them. Cpl. D.A. Black of the RCMP, who was directing the search, said it was not likely the footprints were left by Howard and could have been left by any number of youngsters walking through the area.
Wednesday 26 January 1955: Doctors state there is little chance the boy could have survived more than one or two freezing nights. Although secretly searchers and officials hold little hope they will find the little boy alive, Howard's father refuses to give up hope and stated numerous times he was "positive" Howard was still alive.
Driven by his father's faith, 1000 searchers continued to search an area of three square miles within the triangle formed by Yarmouth, Little River, and Wedgeport, crossing and re-crossing the dense, swampy terrain. A helicopter from Shearwater Naval Air Station near Halifax and aircraft from the Gateway Flying Club flew over the area to aid in the search efforts.
Thursday 27 January 1955: The temperature has been below freezing every night since Howard went missing and on this day a storm whipped the now 300 searchers with snow and rain driven in off the Atlantic Ocean. The men once again combed the three square mile area where the search was concentrated, but this time with the help of police dogs. RCMP search organizers report to the newspapers that his father has searched almost nonstop for his son, with almost no sleep.
Tuesday 1 February 1955 - On its 11th day, the search for little Howard James Newell is halted due to freezing temperatures and ice on Little River.
5 July 2008 - Howard's surviving siblings held a memorial service to share stories about his life and to reminisce about the search for their brother. A mass was held at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Melbourne, Nova Scotia and a reception was held at the Melbourne Community Hall. The public was welcome to attend.
A memorial stone was placed in the Melbourne cemetery between the graves of his parents,
Harold and Loretta.
No trace of Harold Newell has ever been found. The police concluded that he drowned and was swept out to sea. It is reported that rumours have circulated over the passing decades that he was hit by a car on his way home and his body disposed of.
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