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By Canadian Press

Missing Quebec boy found alive in Ontario

Sep 15, 2017 | 8:15 AM

MONTREAL — A six-year-old boy who had gone missing along with his father after the child’s mother was found dead in Quebec has been found safe in Ontario, police said Friday.

The man and his son disappeared Thursday afternoon.

The boy, who had been the subject of an Amber Alert, was found Friday at about 5 p.m. in Griffith, Ont., about 150 kilometres west of Ottawa, Quebec provincial police said.

“We had an end that everyone hoped for,” Quebec provincial police spokeswoman Martine Asselin told reporters moments after the child was found. “(He) was found safe and sound by the (Ontario Provincial Police).

“(His father) was arrested. It’s great news for everyone. The work of media, police and citizens, we thank you all very much.”

Carolle Dionne, spokeswoman for Ontario’s provincial police, said officers on the ground aided by a helicopter were able to stop the vehicle.

Dionne said officers stopped the car southwest of Renfrew, Ont., on Highway 41, which passes through Griffith, Ont.

The OPP said in a release late Friday night that officers deployed a spike belt to stop the vehicle and that the man was apprehended after a short foot pursuit.

The release said the child was found in the vehicle in good physical health and had been placed in care.

It also said his father was scheduled to appear for a bail hearing Saturday on unspecified charges, and that the investigation was ongoing in conjunction with the Sûreté du Quebec.

The boy’s mother, who was married to his father, was found dead Thursday night in a home in Saint-Eustache, Que., north of Montreal.

Police say she had four children, including three before her relationship with the boy’s father.

Asselin said the car in which the child was found in was previously used by a 71-year-old man who was reported missing.

She said police were asking the public for help in finding Yvon Lacasse, who they believe could have been dropped off somewhere by the man.

The man worked on a documentary about a nine-year-old girl who disappeared from her home in Trois-Rivieres a decade ago. Her remains were found in a wooded area in December 2015.

Her grandfather posted an appeal on Facebook earlier, urging the boy’s father to turn over his son to police.

“I appeal to your father’s heart, do not commit the irremediable,” he said. “Thank you for acting as a responsible father … Think of your child.”

— With files from Sidhartha Banerjee, Giuseppe Valiante and Stephanie Marin

The Canadian Press


by Canadian Press