Disappearance of Cédrika Provencher

Cédrika Provencher
Born (1997-08-29)29 August 1997
Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada
Disappeared July 31, 2007 (aged 9)
Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada
Status Deceased
Remains found December 11, 2015 in Saint-Maurice

Cédrika Provencher (born 29 August 1997) was a Canadian girl from Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada, who disappeared aged 9 on . Her disappearance resulted in the biggest police search in Québec's history. She was declared "missing" by Sûreté du Québec, the province's police force, on 31 July 2007,[1] but Québec media believed that she was kidnapped.[2][3] Despite the offer of a reward, her whereabouts remained unknown for more than eight years.

On 12 December 2015, Québec police announced that her remains had been found in Mauricie, Québec.[4][5]

Cédrika was asked by a man to help search for a lost dog, and agreed to help. She cycled around the area, knocking on doors and asking residents if they had seen the dog. She was seen emerging from a wooded area with a friend, closely followed by a man. She was then seen on her bike in a local park and on various nearby streets. At 8:30 pm, her bicycle was found leaning against a fire hydrant on the corner of streets Chabanel and Chapais.[6][7] On 3 August 2007, it was suggested that she had been abducted.[8] On 8 August, the Sûreté du Québec issued a wanted notice for Cédrika, suggesting that she had voluntarily run away rather than being abducted,[1] despite this the media continued to affirm that she had been abducted.[2][3] Many people assisted in the search for Cédrika, to no avail.[8]

Between August 2007 and July 2008, various newspapers published information on various aspects of the search, but no concrete information surfaced to be able to find Cédrika or even to establish whether she was still alive.[7][9][10][11][12]

Discovery of remains

On 11 December 2015, three hunters stumbled upon a set of human remains in the woods in Saint-Maurice, a suburb of Trois-Rivières close to Highway 40, about 15 km from the last place Cédrika had been seen.[13][14] On 12 December, it was confirmed that the remains were Cédrika's although police had no further information at the time and said they would need to carry out further investigations.[4][5] On 16 December, Radio-Canada revealed that investigators were still looking for a person of interest who had been seen around the area where Cédrika disappeared.[15]

Arrest of Jonathan Bettez

On 29 August 2016, Jonathan Bettez was arrested and charged with six counts of possessing and distributing child pornography depicting children aged between 8 and 12 years of age. The police consider him the prime suspect in Cédrika's abduction and murder, and several investigators working on Cédrika's case are involved in questioning Bettez.[16] In 2007, Bettez owned a red Acura car with silver door handles, which matches the description of a suspicious car seen at the time of the abduction. He has always refused to take a polygraph test or to cooperate in any way with the police. According to crime journalist Claude Poirier, Bettez was planning to flee to Switzerland, a country which has no extradition treaty with Canada.[17]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Sûreté du Québec".
  2. 1 2 "Il y a un coupable et il se connaît | Jean-Marc Beaudoin | Le Nouvelliste". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  3. 1 2 "Où est Cédrika? | Marie-Eve Lafontaine | Le Nouvelliste". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  4. 1 2 "Over 200 police on scene as Cedrika Provencher investigation continues | CTV Montreal News". montreal.ctvnews.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  5. 1 2 "Les ossements de Cédrika Provencher retrouvés".
  6. ↑ "Site Officiel - Fondation Cédrika Provencher". Fondation Cedrika Provencher (in French). Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  7. 1 2 "Cédrika: apprendre à vivre sans sa fille | Clément Sabourin | Actualités". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  8. 1 2 "Des méthodes policières critiquées | Clément Sabourin | Actualités". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  9. ↑ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Regions -. "Voilà déjà une semaine | ICI.Radio-Canada.ca". Radio-Canada.ca (in French). Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  10. ↑ "Affaire Cédrika Provencher: Découvertes insolites - Faits divers - L'Hebdo du St-Maurice". www.lhebdodustmaurice.com. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  11. ↑ "Le Matin".
  12. ↑ "Cédrika Provencher: récit d'un enlèvement | Marie-Eve Lafontaine | Le Nouvelliste". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  13. ↑ "Des restes humains trouvés en Mauricie". tvanouvelles.ca.
  14. ↑ "'We felt it was related to Cédrika Provencher,' says hunter who found remains of missing girl". CBC.
  15. ↑ "Man flagged in 2007 remains person of interest in Cédrika Provencher case". CBC.
  16. ↑ "Bettez remis en liberté sous une pluie d'injures | Paule Vermot-Desroches | Justice et faits divers" (in French). Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  17. ↑ "Affaire Cedrika: le suspect voulait quitter le pays, selon Claude Poirier • Actualités • 98,5 fm Montréal". www.985fm.ca. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
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