The Montreal police are convinced that Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou, the 10-year-old boy who has been missing since March 12, died in a tragic accident on the day he disappeared by falling into the Rivière des Prairies in the park where he was last seen alive.
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.
“I also wanted to thank the public for the contributions they have made so far,” Lafrenière said, while noting the police have gathered more than 700 tips, but that the flow of information slowed to about a dozen tips in the 24 hours before Wednesday evening. Lafrenière said he was also impressed that more than 500 people have volunteered so far to help in the search for the boy.
“That is a lot. It is rare. I won’t say it’s never happened in my career, but it’s rare,” Lafrenière said while adding he learned on Wednesday that Montreal police investigators who have been overseeing the investigation took everything they knew and asked their counterparts in the Sûreté du Québec to look it over in case they might have missed something.
Earlier in the day, Constable Jean-Pierre Brabant said that while officers did not knock on doors in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, as they have in recent days, Wednesday’s efforts to locate Ariel involved continuing searches around Bateliers Park and the shore of Rivière des Prairies. On Monday and Tuesday police divers ventured into the frigid waters of the river, but were unable to find any trace of the boy.
“We’re going to evaluate, day-to-day if our command post is going to stay (at the Galeries Normandie mall located near the boy’s home). It will be there (on Thursday), but there will be an evaluation done to see what continues in terms of the search and also the command post,” Brabant said.
Anyone with information about Ariel is urged to call 911 or Info-Crime at 514-393-1133. He stands 4-foot-7 and weighs about 90 pounds. When last seen, he was wearing a black hooded coat, grey pants and yellow shoes.