Moncton man missing since May found - RCMP

Luke Powers, 42, made headlines for January 2014 machete attack at Fredericton college during breakdown and was found not criminally responsible due to mental disorder at time

A Moncton man who was found not criminally responsible for a bizarre and violent incident in Fredericton in 2014 due to a mental disorder went missing earlier this year but has now been found, the RCMP reports.

The Codiac detachment of the RCMP issued a news release Aug. 12 about Luke Powers, 42, of Moncton, who’d gone missing.

“Luke Powers was last seen on May 26, 2025, near the corner of Main and Robinson streets in Moncton,” it said.

“He was reported missing to police on Aug. 8, 2025.”

Police are hoping members of the public can provide information on his whereabouts, the release said, as officers have followed up on leads, but to no avail thus far.

“Police and his family are concerned for his well-being,” it said.

However, in updated posted to social media late Tuesday morning, the Mounties advised Powers had been found and was OK.

“The 42-year-old man from Moncton who was reported missing to police on Aug. 8, 2025, has been located safe,” the RCMP said. “The RCMP would like to thank the public for their assistance.”

The missing man was at the centre of a shocking instance of violence in Fredericton in January 2014, after he wielded a machete at Eastern College on Prospect Street, injuring an instructor and two other students before he was subdued.

He told authorities he didn’t recall the incident and was in the throes of a breakdown at the time, and a forensic psychiatric assessment found he was not criminally responsible for his actions due to a mental disorder at the time.

He underwent treatment at the Restigouche Hospital Centre, a secure psychiatric facility in Campbellton, and the New Brunswick review board eventually granted him a conditional discharge, releasing him from the hospital.

Don MacPherson can be reached at ftonindependent@gmail.com.