Arrest made in disappearance
Gatineau man, 30, is a suspect in kidnapping in Little Burgundy
Montreal police have arrested one person in connection with Tricia Boisvert’s disappearance and are treating the case as a homicide.
Police say their search for abducted Montreal woman Tricia Boisvert has shifted into a homicide investigation.
Montreal cops said shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday that they are seeking Philippe Steele-Morin, a 30-yearold Gatineau resident, as a suspect in the case. He was the last person to see Boisvert before she went missing, according to Constable Simon Delorme of the Montreal police.
The investigation yielded one arrest early Wednesday in Montreal, but Delorme wouldn’t say who they arrested or if the person will be charged.
“I can say that people should keep their eyes open for (Steele-Morin), who is considered a suspect,” Delorme said. “You’ll understand there are details we have to withhold right now because this is an ongoing investigation.”
Boisvert, 36, disappeared on Jan. 17 from her Little Burgundy residence near Notre-Dame W. and Dominion Sts.
What began as a missing person case evolved into a potential kidnap-
“She texted a friend to tell her a ‘crazy guy’ was coming to her
apartment.”
FRIEND OF TRICIA BOISVERT
ping and is considered a “probable homicide” involving police forces in Montreal, Gatineau and Ottawa. Detectives met with witnesses in Little Burgundy last weekend who indicated there may have been a struggle between Boisvert and a man inside her apartment building.
While Delorme said investigators from the major crimes unit obtained evidence that suggest Boisvert was killed, police haven’t found the woman’s body or her car — a black 2008 Pontiac G6, licence plate number 156 XQG. On Wednesday, the Forensic identification unit’s van was parked outside Boisvert’s industrial-style apartment with officers gathering evidence inside the building.
Steele-Morin could be i n the Montreal region or possibly in the Gatineau-Ottawa area. Friends of Boisvert told The Gazette she had known the suspect for years.
“Just before (Boisvert) disappeared, she texted a friend to tell her a ‘crazy guy’ was coming to her apartment,” said one a friend of Boisvert’s who wished to remain anonymous. “She also said s--t was going to hit the fan. That guy was (Steele-Morin).”
The frantic text messages about Steele-Morin was the last communication between Boisvert and her friends.
About four years ago, SteeleMorin spent time in a Gatineau provincial jail, where he was attacked in a turf dispute over drug trafficking. He was serving a four month sentence for trying to “parachute” sealed packages of marijuana into the Gatineau prison yard.
Court records also show proceedings on fraud charges have been underway against Steele since last April. The suspect has a shaved head, medium build and is covered in tattoos.
Friends said Boisvert is originally from Hinton, Alta., and moved to Quebec in the mid-2000s. Before living in Montreal, Boisvert spent time in Aylmer and the Gatineau area.
“She spent most of her weekends in Aylmer, downtown Gatineau and Ottawa,” said one friend, who started a Facebook page enlisting people to help find Boisvert. “She’s a very generous person, she helped me out when I was going through tough times. She has the kind of laugh that’s just infectious, that will make you laugh even if something isn’t funny. If she is dead, it’s devastating. She was like an angel to us.”
According to Boisvert’s Facebook profile, she worked for BAPaccess, a company that hired women to promote clubs and model for various businesses in Ottawa and Montreal. Beyond dispatching its “BAPbabes” team to draw crowds to nightclubs and bars, the company organizes student parties in the nation’s capital.
Representatives from BAPaccess did not immediately return The Gazette’s phone calls.
Boisvert’s relatives could not be reached for comment.
Montreal police are asking anyone with information of Steele’s whereabouts to contact Info-Crime au 514 393-1133.