Disappearance of Cédrika Provencher

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

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

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

Disappearance and search

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 rues 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 indeed been abducted.^[2][3] Many people assisted in the search for Cédrika, with no significant results.^[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 December 11, 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 December 12, 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 December 16, 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, which has no extradition treaty with Canada.^[17]

References