For a Missing Person Unit in the Province of Québec

I invite you to read this recently published article. My family continues to request a Missing Person Unit in the Province of Québec.

This type of Special Unit exists in other Canadian provinces such as Ontario and British-Columbia. It helps solve more cases of missing children and adults and certainly helps with coordinating searches over a wide area. I sincerely believe that a provincial expertise would provide better outcomes in the search for missing loved ones, especially in the precious first days of the investigation of a disappearance. Nowadays, you cannot limit the search for a missing person to a single village or a single city. And you certainly cannot afford to build fences around jurisdictions when every minute counts.

I also want to mention again that there are currently more than 600 unidentified bodies in Canada, spread in various mortuaries in the country. These 600 people may be missing loved ones who have been sought by their families for months. Or even years. Even if my family continues to believe that we will find Marilyn alive, I would like to know if she died. So I find it particularly appalling that there is still no national database for missing persons and unidentified bodies. Should families of missing persons build one? Is it up to us to create a Missing Person Unit as it exists in other provinces and countries?

If we had a special unit for disappearances in Québec, perhaps we would know a little more history behind the faces of these children, these young adults, elderly adults, or those who have vanished without a trace. Perhaps we might well find them?

Quelques personnes disparues du Québec.

Some unresolved cases of missing people in the Province of Québec…

Brenda Duperron, 17 years old, missing since March 9th, 2012. (Montréal City)

Maisy Odjick, now 22 years old, missing since September 6th, 2008. (Kitigan Zibi Community)

Diego Königsthal, 1 year old when he went missing on December 5th, 2007. (Montréal City)

Odette Lemieux, 60 years old, missing since the beginning of January 2012. (Québec City)

Laura Jame May, 17 years old, missing since October 19th, 2001. (Montréal City)

Antonio El-Asmar, 5 years old when he went missing on January 11th, 2001. (Montréal City)

Diogo Santos, 31 years old, missing since October 20th, 2011. (Montréal City)

Alexandra Ducharme Bibeau, 14 years old, missing since March 1st, 2012. (Sherbrooke City)

Gilles Perron, 66 years old, missing since January 13th 2012. (St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu City)

Geneviève Malo, 40 years old, missing since December 15th, 2011. (Saint-Calixte City)

Pierrette Lamy, 72 years old, missing since January 5th, 2012. (Laval City)

Howard Graveline, 75 years old, missing since December 30th, 2011. (Gatineau City)

My sister Marilyn Bergeron, 24 years old when she went missing on February 17th, 2008. (Québec City)

Mbaye Thiaw NDIR, 16  years old, missing since January 20th, 2012. (Québec City)

Michael Montpetit, 17 years old, missing since November 23rd, 2011. (Sherbrooke City)

Maxime Richard, 16 years old, missing since February 28th, 2012. (Longueuil City)

Maxime Pelletier, 21 years old, missing since January 29th, 2012. (City of Québec)

David Fortin, 14 years when he went missing on February 10th, 2009. (Alma City)

Sarah Adnan Hashim Siraj, 16 years old, missing since February 20th, 2012. (Montréal City)

Cédrika Provencher, 9 years old when she went missing on July 31st, 2007. (Trois-Rivières City)

Please visit the website Avisderecherche.tv (in French) for a more complete list of unresolved cases of disappearances in the Province of Québec. (There are over two hundred active investigations.)

 

2011 – Thinking of Marilyn

2011 – Thinking of Marilyn

Over 175 people gathered February 19, 2011 at Hotel Classic in Québec City for the evening entitled ”Think of Marilyn.” The disappearance of Marilyn unfortunately goes back three years and we marked this sad anniversary with the friendship of all of those who still hope to see her again one day.

Marilyn’s passions are both music and writing. They were honored during the evening. The vibrant testimonies of her relatives were combined to the speeches of Enfant-Retour (Pina Arcamone) and AFPAD (Michel Laroche), who joined the magical performance of singer Steve Labrecque, not to mention the superb animation of Stephanie Pelletier and the great design of guitar picks (illustrated above) by Jennylie Harel.

Such good times allowed everyone to come away with a lighter heart and still remain hopeful for the future. Marilyn was present in all minds and hearts of all those who love her, who want to see her again, and who continue to hope with unfailing tenacity.

2011 – Dinner and Tribute to the AFPAD families.

A fundraiser was organized in the Beauce region for the Association of Families of Persons Assassinated or Disappeared (AFPAD). The event was held on November 5th in Ste-Marie de-Beauce.
During the evening, Nathalie Bergeron, sister of Marilyn, gave the following speech:

 

In Spite of Myself

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening.
I am pleased to join you despite the distance for an evening of tribute to families, organized by AFPAD.

My name is Nathalie Bergeron but tonight I am a sister.
I am a sister of a missing person. I am the sister of Marilyn. I’m the one who looks for her. I’m the one that is left behind. I am the other.

In this room tonight, there are more than sisters. There are mothers, fathers, children, brothers, grandparents, or friends.
All of these people are linked to a story of a missing or a murdered person. All of these people are asking for answers, trying to continue to live, or get involved to honor the existence of the other, the existence of people who are still missing or gone forever.

I was told that among you, there are police officers who will hear my testimonial.
I am therefore acknowledging my gratefulness, especially to those who work diligently.
I am showing them respect, especially to those who demonstrate the same to my parents.
I am showing my surprise, especially to those who give us a lead that we did not think of before.
I am the one who questions, examines, claims, and insists. I am the sister of the other.
You are a police officer.
When you chose this path, that of righteousness and order, you did not expect to cross mine.
I am watching you as well. I am reading all your your reports. I fear your silence. I stop when you tell me to move.
It’s because you have not found her.

You receive our testimony,
One delivered in a panic,
What height, what time, please wait for me to explain.
Then we are rushed into your system,
For us the world stops, for you it begins,
You speak of weeks, I am screaming minutes.
Nobody is supposed to ignore my missing person.

I thank those who ignore the simplistic solution,
I thank those who excel in their work and reject the path of least effort,
Such as a suicide theory.
A suicide without a body, without a message, without a reason – quite convenient.
No need to search, no need to perform hard work.
I express my gratitude to those who seek certainty,
Who do not assume,
Those who speak of reasons and facts,
Those who can wisely spare us the false hope or false sorrows of false leads,
These phrases that mark, these phrases that kill.
These phrases that give us doubt greater than that with which we already live.
I do not want to imagine this ending, especially with nothing,
Tell me that you will look for her.

This is an adult, this is a child, he has Alzheimer’s,
This is a loved one, mine, ours, yours,
No matter if he has run away, if she left voluntarily,
If the family is the problem, then go ahead and arrest me,
For now, tell me that you will search for her.

As time passes, the less likely she will be found,
Marilyn is absent,
The clues that remain are worth gold,
We run the streets, we jump overboard,
Even a new disappointment does not diminish our determination,
There is too much pain to stop,
I do not want to know how I feel once immobilized,
Tell me that you will continue to move forward.

Jacques Lacan said,”The law of man is the law of language.”
As a weapon I keep the discourse of hope,
To these other police officers I say change your tune,
And strive for excellence to achieve our target.
A humanitarian goal,
To be reunited as a family.

I was told that among you, there are also politicians who will hear my tirade.
So I talk to them about money,
How much does it cost to keep hope alive?
I plead for their commitment to us,
If they have a party line,
They just cross those of families,
People united in grief and sorrow,
Collateral victims,
But also individuals who are fighting,
Who request more expertise from Québec and Canada.

You are the representatives of the people. The vast majority of the people who vote understand us and support us.

When will we have our special unit?
When will we have our database?
Is it for you that I should vote?

If you are elected,
Now you know,
The real period of question begins.
Ask us,
Maybe you’re the answer,
I give you a few keywords,
Take at least one with you,
Collaboration, police training,
Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
What is happening in the criminal cause or with the missing person case?
And for you Mr. Boisvenu,
Continue.

Thank you to everyone who are supporting us, protecting us,
AFPAD, Missing Children’s Network, police officers, politicians, businessmen, strangers on the street that give us a clue,
A more realistic expectation, perhaps even a victory,
Thank you to all those families who understand without a word,
In the silence, tears, or smiles.
Who help in the dark moments,
By a look, a handshake, an encouraging word,
Thank you to those who continue to work even if their loved one will never come back.

To help us find the missing people.
To help us in our misfortune.
Strongly needed is the Bill of Rights of the Heart.
Politicians turn around and speak the language of your voters.

I know that with us tonight, there are many missing people,
Your brother, your mother, your child,
Maybe even a little of yourself since the tragic moment.
My sister is missing, there is no Marilyn.
She has ceased to be visible,
She has escaped my attention,
She is perhaps lost,
I can no longer share anything with her,
Neither my joys or my stories
Neither my marriage nor the birth of my daughter,
And I wonder what we will do, Mom, Dad, and I
Laurent and Lætitia,
Without her.

In spite of myself,
I am a sister of missing person,
In spite of ourselves,
We are the families of those we lost.
All happy families are the same way,
Families are unhappy each in their own way (Leo Tolstoy)
Thank you for hearing our story again.
And to my sister Marilyn I say, “I love you and see you soon.”

Nathalie Bergeron
November 5, 2011

 

Marilyn Bergeron’s

Marilyn, December 2007Name:

Marilyn Bergeron

Sex: Female

Age: 24 years old when she went missing (She is now 28 years old)

Date of birth: 12/21/1983

Race: White

Height: 1 m 70 (5’ 7’’)

Weight: 52 kg (115 lbs)

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Green

Language: French, English, and a bit of Spanish

Tattoo: Pegasus (between her right breast and shoulder)

Date of disappearance: 02/17/2008

Last seen: Marilyn purchased a coffee at Café Dépôt of St-Romuald (Québec, Canada) on February 17th 2008 at 16h03 (4:03 p.m.). It was the last transaction on her credit card.

Last seen wearing: Marilyn was last seen wearing a long black jacket with a fake fur hood, black boots, and grey velvet trousers. She also had a black backpack. She has a credit card but no IDs.

Miscellaneous: Marilyn said she was going for a walk but never came back. Before her move to Québec City on February 16th, she lived in Montréal for three years. Her family fears for her security.

Message for Maxime Richard’s family

Update:
Maxime is unfortunately deceased. All my sincere sympathies to his family that I appreciate immensely. Maxime will remain in your hearts forever. I will not forget him and I think of you.

____
It’s with sadness that I learned about the recent disappearance of Maxime Richard of Longueuil, 16 years old, runaway since February 28th, 2012.
I recognized the pain and fatigue of his relatives in these dramatic days. I saw the same “missing tracks” sheets on the kitchen table, the friends distributing critical details in the subway, and the journalists launching the appeal to the general public for any information. I also recognized the tenacity of a mother who wants to find her child, the collaboration of strangers or friends publishing a video (Bravo Maxime Messier for the initiative!), and the outstanding support of a generous population united in  trying to find a missing loved one.
Here is the information. Have you seen Maxime Richard?
Date of disappearance: February 28th, 2012
Missing From: College DuRocher, Saint-Lambert, Province of Québec.
Age: 16 years old
Size: 1, 85 m. – 6’1 ”
Weight: 64 kg – 141 pounds
Eyes: Pers (some websites also mention blue or green eyes)
Hair: Blond or perhaps dyed black
Maxime Richard speaks French. When he was seen for the last time, he was wearing a black shirt with an AC/DC logo, dark gray jeans, and a black coat. He might be in Austin City or perhaps in Sherbrooke City.
Maps
1. Potential Directions followed by Maxime to get from College DuRocher (Saint-Lambert) to Austin.
2. Map of College DuRocher (Saint-Lambert)
He left College Durocher Saint-Lambert in the afternoon of February 28th, 2012. He is considered a Missing At-Risk Youth. According to the investigators, the young man presents a high suicide risk.
If you have any information, please contact: 9-1-1 and/or 450-463-7211 (Longueuil City Police Department)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9FK6iCDcWw
If family or friends of Maxime Richard read these lines, please know that I might be able to provide some information about looking for a missing person that I wished I knew during the first days of the disappearance of my sister Marilyn. For instance, there are some elements that can be verified that are critical, which may not necessarily be available later (cameras).
Please e-mail me: contact@trouvermarilyn.com.
I am thinking of you. Above all, continue to believe that you will find Maxime.
And if by chance you read these words Maxime, please tell yourself that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel and that people are willing to help you, no matter the situation. You are obviously loved Maxime … Without judgement, without restraint. I hope that you will find a way to seek help. And remember… Après la pluie, le beau temps.
Sincerely,Nathalie
Sister of Marilyn, missing since February 17th, 2008.
I continue to love and think of Marilyn every day.