Chris's Crime Forum

Missing Saguenay boy threatened a day before disappearance

The parents of a Saguenay, Que., boy who has been missing for more than a week say he complained the night before his disappearance that someone was threatening to hurt him at school.

David Fortin, 14, was last seen on Feb. 10 after he left his family home in the Alma district of the city.

He told his parents he was going to catch his morning bus to Camille-Lavoie secondary school as usual, but police said the boy never arrived.

His father, Eric Fortin, believes his son ran away because he could not face going to school where he would have to deal with his aggressors.

"It must have been hell, a real ordeal for him," said Fortin.

He said his son may have been picked on because of a speech impediment.

"He had been promised a punch in the mouth," said Fortin.

The boy's mother, Caroline Lachance, said the threat was just part of a larger campaign of intimidation against her son by several students at the school.

"Other kids said things to him that weren't easy to hear," said Lachance.

She said the bullying ranged from verbal harassment to physical assault. The school had even assigned a security guard to keep an eye on Fortin every day.

School promises more anti-bullying awareness
Officials at the boy's school are promising to do more to warn students about the dangers of bullying.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, some schools in the Montreal area released their plans for dealing with bullying in their schools.

Under the new program, 11 south shore schools will teach students how to deal with bullying if they are a victim or a witness.

Police and volunteers are continuing to search for David Fortin.

Search teams have been active in both the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean and Central Quebec regions after witnesses reported seeing a boy matching his description.

Fortin is tall for his age (173 centimetres), weighs 75 kilograms and has brown eyes and brown hair.

When he disappeared, he was wearing a red jacket with the word Polaris on the back. He was also wearing blue jeans, red mitts and a grey tuque.

Police are asking anyone with information on the missing boy to call 1-800-659-4264.

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MONTREAL -- A Quebec family is holding out hope for the imminent return of their teenage son who has been missing for 10 days after he was badly bullied at school.

David Fortin, 14, has not been heard from since Feb. 10, when he failed to make it to classes.

Provincial police said yesterday that investigators believe David is alive and that he hitchhiked to central Quebec from his home in Alma, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City.

Eric Fortin, the teen's father, says he's hopeful his son is alive and hiding somewhere.

"He was seen the Tuesday he went missing, getting into a vehicle heading toward Jonquière or Chicoutimi," Mr. Fortin said.

"But we don't have more than that for now."

David, who is a gangly 5 foot 8, was reportedly teased mercilessly because he has a speech impediment.

The boy's mother, Caroline Lachance, has said her son was intimidated and harassed by several students and might have been threatened in the days leading up to his disappearance.

Police said several witnesses reported seeing someone matching the teen's description along a highway.

At least five people say they saw someone matching David's description in different towns south of Alma. Authorities are asking people who think they've seen the boy to contact them.

"We can say that this information is very pertinent and the physical and clothing description corresponds perfectly to Fortin," said Captain Mario Bouchard.

"The time sequence also makes sense and we can assume that Fortin ran away and was heading towards the Mauricie region [in central Quebec]."

Investigators are attempting to retrace the teen's steps to determine where he was going. In any case, they don't believe David has much at his disposal.

"We know he didn't have a cellular phone, he didn't have a credit card," Capt. Bouchard said.

"Did he plan by amassing cash in the days leading up to his running away? We're trying to figure that out, but for the moment, if he has money, he doesn't have much."

The majority of missing children in Canada are runaways and one advocate says in many of those cases, they return of their own volition within a week of disappearing.

"Runaways account for 80 per cent of missing children cases across the country," said Pina Arcamone, head of Enfant-Retour, a Quebec-based missing-children's organization.

Ms. Arcamone said she spoke to a distraught Ms. Lachance earlier this week, discussing how to talk with David should he call home.

"Running away is a cry for help. ... It's a dangerous situation for children because they're easy targets and they risk falling victim to exploitation," Ms. Arcamone said, adding that the boy might be afraid to call home.

The parents have appeared on Quebec television with appeals to the public, but Eric Fortin said no news makes the situation difficult.

"They're hanging by a thread and are desperate for news, any news," Ms. Arcamone said.

"This is very, very difficult for them."

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My heart goes out to the family. I pray he is found safe and sound. NO ONE deserves to be treated the way he was in school (I can say that from experience). There needs to be tougher laws for bullying.

I so agree Step,these kids are learning nothing with these so called anti-bullying courses they take in school.Why does a young man have to disappear for a difference to be made.I hope he is found o.k.

Yes, I agree. I don't understand why kids have to be so mean sometimes, and my heart breaks hearing these stories. I hope he is safe.

It really bothers me we are hearing nothing at all about David's case.Are they searching,what are the police doing to find this young man.This reminds me of Brandon Crisp who disappeared last year after an argument with his parents over a video game,he died accidently from a fall off a tree.Why is there so little coverage from the media?The last story i can find is 10 days old,we as a country need to make this story heard and help find this young man before something tragic happens.

A Facebook group has been started for David

GROUP

David Fortin Might have been seen here in Montreal. The parents of David are in Montreal and will go over video surveillance camaras to see if this IS indeed David.

Les parents de David Fortin doivent visionner dans les prochaines heures, à Montréal, une bande vidéo importante afin d'identifier s'il s'agit bel et bien de leur fils qui a été aperçu dans le métro.


«Le père se dirige vers Montréal», a confirmé lundi Hélène Nepton, porte-parole de la Sûreté du Québec à Saguenay.

Un adolescent qui ressemblerait au garçon disparu depuis un mois aurait été vu dans la métropole. Les images tournées dans le métro ont cependant besoin d'une analyse plus attentive de la part des proches.

Les parents de David Fortin ont quitté Alma en mi-journée. D'autres recherches auront lieu à Montréal. Le père de Julie Surprenant sera présent pour leur apporter un soutien moral, en plus de les aider à trouver des bénévoles.

David Fortin, 14 ans, d'Alma, au Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, est introuvable depuis le 10 février dernier. La SQ prétend que les critiques publiques du père concernant le travail des policiers n'ont pas eu d'impact sur l'évolution du dossier.

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Sad news...

the video showed no signs of missing Quebec teen: parents

Parents drove 500 kilometres from Alma to screen surveillance video
The parents of missing Quebec teen David Fortin say a boy spotted in the Montreal metro system was not their son.

Eric Fortin and Caroline Lachance spent several hours on Tuesday viewing surveillance video after police received a tip that their 14-year-old son had been seen in a metro station.

However, Eric Fortin said his son wasn't on the video.

"It's very frustrating," said Fortin, who with his wife had driven 500 kilometres to Montreal to see the video. "This morning on the way here, we were very happy. Now, we will start looking again."

David Fortin was last seen on Feb. 10 at his home in Alma in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region.

Police believe he ran away because he could no longer face daily attacks from bullies at his high school.

The day he disappeared, he left to catch his school bus as usual. However, he never showed up for class
Lachance said her son was more and more reluctant to go to school because of the way some students treated him.

She said the bullying ranged from verbal harassment to physical assault. The school had even assigned a security guard to keep an eye on Fortin every day.

On Tuesday, Lachance issued another appeal for her son to make contact.

"David, we have confidence in you. Have confidence in us. Your life will change. School is over. You can stay at home and we will take care of you," she said.

Teen spotted along highway leading away from Alma
Last month, witnesses reported seeing someone matching Fortin's description hitchhiking along the highway that leads west from Alma toward Trois-Rivières.
Fortin is five-foot-eight and about 165 pounds, with brown eyes and brown hair.

When last seen, he was wearing a red and black jacket with the word Polaris on the back. He was also wearing blue jeans, red mitts and a grey tuque.

Police are asking anyone with information on the missing teen to call 1-800-659-4264.






Jacket David was wearing when he was last seen..

MONTREAL--An anonymous donor is offering a $10,000 reward for the safe return of a Quebec teen who reportedly was bullied so mercilessly that his family believes he ran away from home.

A Montreal community organization announced the reward yesterday with the hope someone who might have had contact with David Fortin, 14, in the past month will come forward with information.

With the offer came yet another impassioned plea from Fortin's distraught mother.

"Come back, David, come back into our arms," a tearful Caroline Lachance said. "We need you so much. Have faith in us. I have faith in you, baby. I love you."

Fortin disappeared Feb. 10 from Alma, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City.

The teen was supposed to catch a bus headed to school the morning he vanished but he never made it.

Fortin was reportedly teased because he had a speech impediment and his parents have indicated he was the victim of intense bullying.