Hazel
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(respectfully snipped, bolded and underlined by me)
reposting old news article:
http://montrealgazette.com/news/loc...-search-for-10-year-old-ariel-jeffrey-kouakou
reposting old news article:
Since the search began last week, Montreal police spokespeople have delicately chosen their words in terms of what they think happened to Ariel. They have maintained they have followed both the possibility that he somehow fell into the river or that he was abducted. In an interview with the Montreal Gazette on Wednesday, Inspector Ian Lafrenière, stated clearly that investigators “are convinced” the boy fell into the river and drowned.
“We have a very credible witness who saw him in (Bateliers Park), near the river, at 11:25 (a.m. on March 12) near the waterfront (of Rivière des Prairies). She is extremely credible. We have camera footage that places him in the park. We don’t see him (on any security cameras) getting out of the park,” Lafrèniere said while adding that the woman who saw and spoke to Ariel before he went missing asked him several questions about why he was alone in a park on what she assumed was a school day. It turns out the boy’s school was closed that day for administrative reasons. Lafrenière said investigators were impressed that the woman went out of her way to ask Ariel a series of questions before continuing on her way.
Lafrenière said investigators are still not certain precisely when Ariel left his family’s home in Ahuntsic-Cartierville before he headed off to a friend’s house as planned (Ariel’s family recently stated they believe it was sometime around 11 a.m.). Lafrenière also said investigators are certain no one was home when Ariel arrived at his friend’s house and that he then headed to the park where he was spotted by the woman.
“For us it’s now more on the investigation side,” Lafrenière said, while adding plans will be made to co-ordinate sporadic efforts to locate the boy with the Laval police (based across the river) and the Canadian Coast Guard. “For us, the lead (being followed) is that this was an accident.”
During the interview, Lafrenière listed the details in a matter-of-fact fashion, but was very delicate in his delivery of them. He said that as a father of young children, he has difficulty imagining what Ariel’s parents — Kouadio ​​Frédéric Kouakou and Akouena Noëlla Bibie — are going through. The parents have maintained they are convinced their boy was abducted. Lafrenière said considerable resources have been used to explore that possibility, but that investigators have uncovered no evidence so far to suggest Ariel was kidnapped.
http://montrealgazette.com/news/loc...-search-for-10-year-old-ariel-jeffrey-kouakou