Father of missing boy asks mayor to step up search

In an emotional plea, the father of Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou on Thursday asked Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante to intensify the search for his son, missing since March 12.

During a news conference, Kouadio Frédéric Kouakou painfully detailed the “30 long days, 30 long nights” since his son disappeared, and then reiterated his “firm belief ” that the 10-year-old will eventually be found.

Kouakou urged Plante and Montreal police to consider the creation of an abduction squad.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Plante said it isn’t her role to create a special squad.

“I’m really preoccupied with making sure they have enough resources,” Plante said. “So, it’s not for me to say if there should be a squad or how it should be organized. I leave that to (Montreal police) to manage their own organization. I want to make sure they have all they need for all types of operations, including this one.

“As a mayor, as a mother and as a citizen this is something I’m very concerned about, but I ... reiterate my confidence in the work they have done to date.”

Michel Surprenant, whose 16-year-old daughter Julie disappeared in 1999, was also at the news conference.

Surprenant stressed the importance of keeping Ariel’s disappearance front-and-centre in the public eye, noting that when media coverage moves on, the families of the missing find themselves alone and distraught.

Missing Children’s Network director Pina Arcamone pointed out that each time the media report on a disappearance, police receive tips, and that even a random piece of information could be what it takes to solve a case.

Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou left his family home on March 12 during a pedagogical day to visit a friend who proved to be not at home.

Surveillance cameras have established he went to a park along the Rivière des Prairies in north end Montreal, but none recorded him leaving.

Police have said they are considering all possibilities, but suspect the boy fell into the river and drowned.

However, the boy’s father, who has also viewed the videos, notes that none of them depict his son heading toward the river, much less falling in.