On February 15th, 2009 Québec City Police Department has unveiled a video in the hope of generating new clues in the investigation to find Marilyn Bergeron, missing since February 17, 2008.
Author Archives: Nathalie
The Second Time
I hung up and told myself that finally someone was going to look for her.Then, I called the shelter.I was told they “may receive a homeless woman at no cost but only for a few weeks.”I added: “I think this young woman is a drug addict. Can you help?”With some restraint, they said, “Yes, but our means are limited. We are working with a detox center.”A new resource. I asked: “Do you have the phone number for the detox center?”
I was told rather curtly: “It is in the yellow pages.”
It’s true, after all I could also search for the phone number…
I found the detox center on the internet. I spoke to a very nice person who explained: “We accept most cases, except those that are too heavy.”
I said: “Can you please elaborate? ”
The list was relatively simple: “People who inject intravenous drugs, those who have already stayed with us and showed behavioral problems such as violence. Things like this… ”
I asked, “What is the available resource for the serious cases?”
“The hospital.”
Ah yes, the one who sends people away in the storms.
She added quickly: “You can not force anyone into treatment.”
Once I took a course with a charity organization that helps young homeless people. Their code of conduct was similar:
“We’re not here to SAVE them. We are here to meet their needs.” The person proudly claimed that she let a young woman give birth on a beach, but gave her blankets.
Really? Is this truly enough to sound happy?
I know we cannot save the whole world, but perhaps we should review our approaches?
To what extent would a homeless person, often intoxicated, make an informed decision on her own fate when she is begging, forced into prostitution, fighting, or fasting, just to survive?
And how can we trust those who enforce internment or make mandatory observation decisions when they let anyone walk in the storm?
I am starting to think that those who say “it’s not my decision” ultimately are causing this unhealthy loop where nobody can get out of anything because no one feels responsible.
I don’t know if this young woman who looks like Marilyn will decide to seek help. Whether she will accept the coffee from the charity organization. If she will consider taking a good look at the brochure or not.
I have offered financial support for her to say “I don’t want it” rather than “I can’t have it”. Will she be offered anything at all?
For 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?
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.)
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.
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.
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.
2. Map of College DuRocher (Saint-Lambert)
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9FK6iCDcWw
Sister of Marilyn, missing since February 17th, 2008.
Why Do People Disappear? A Look at Human Trafficking
Source: Wikipedia: Missing Person
There are hundreds of active missing people cases in the province of Québec. Although the exact cause of the disappearances are often unknown, the consequences can be very serious for the missing person, family, and friends.
Note: The content of this article and the links below are particularly difficult, and its reading is not recommended for minors and sensitive souls.
Josée asked me if we had sought out those who kidnap young women for prostitution. I thought about this scenario more than once. I even spent whole nights in bad neighborhoods around the country in search of Marilyn. In these searches, I have not seen the tip of the iceberg of the trouble, nor I have seen my sister. I will never forget the pale face of a young woman from East Vancouver who wished that someone was looking for her.
Over the years, I was told many horror stories related to human trafficking. Unfortunately, this scenario needs to be considered with the others in Marilyn’s disappearance. I will not deny that it scares me.
Here’s what happened to three young women in Québec; three stories of missing people among others. The names are fictitious to protect the identity of the victims.
Isabelle went for a job interview following an advertisement in the local newspaper. She had just finished school and was looking for a job in her field of expertise. She had been given an appointment in the afternoon. She had barely arrived when she heard the news… She had the job! Only,…another job. She was an escort and she was starting immediately. It would take her more than 18 months to escape. After the first attempt, she was thrown down the stairs, she was beaten, and raped repeatedly. Her “transport” lead her into new “exotic dancer bars” every two weeks. She worked days and nights in large cities and rural regions of the Québec province. She finally escaped after a third attempt. Despite the physical and moral wounds, she still refuses to file a complaint, huddled in fear. Her family also receives threats, ignored by local authorities. Still, life slowly resumes its course.
Lisa, a beautiful teenage runaway, was tied up in an apartment near a highway for more than a year, a victim of street gangs. Three girls were working as prostitutes days and nights under threats from their pimps, each receiving an average of twenty clients per day. Lisa was not even sixteen years old.
Jane, eighteen years old, was locked in a basement of a posh Montreal neighborhood for nearly two years. One customer finally took pity on her while he heard her whisper “mom” through her sobs. He called the police anonymously.
So many horror stories. Almost no action or prevention.
To all of those who are thinking of running away or taking off on a whim, I implore you to look for resources at school or in your circle of friends or family. Those who are waiting at the bus station to offer you a coffee or a warm place to sleep “for a few days” will not help you. They are your age, but they are lying about who they are and what they are expecting of you.
To all of those who prey on vulnerable people, please notice the sores on the legs, the puffy eyes, and the haggard look of the person that you are abusing. You have the courage to commit your illegal act, maybe you’ll find the courage to show a little heart and help the person anonymously.
For more information on human trafficking in Canada:
Human Trafficking in Canada: Report of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Images of Marilyn Bergeron
On February 15th 2009, The Police Department of Quebec City has released a video clip today to hopefully obtain new leads in the investigation to find Marilyn Bergeron, missing since February 17th 2008.