‘Missing’ Quebec woman was in distress: family
The boyfriend of a Quebec woman who was the focus of an eight-day police search acknowledged on Saturday that she initially gave investigators a “false declaration” for why she went missing.
Karine Major, a 26-year-old chemical technician, is now facing a charge of public mischief, provincial police say.
Still, her boyfriend and older sister are urging the director of Penal and Criminal Prosecutions not to charge Major with a crime, arguing she was in psychological distress when she apparently vanished May 9.
The RCMP in Saskatchewan located the Rimouski woman on May 20 after she phoned her sister. At first, Major claimed to RCMP investigators she was abducted, but later confessed to the Sûreté du Québec she was never kidnapped.
“In effect, she gave a false declaration to the RCMP when they interrogated her,” Alexandre Livernoche told reporters at a Montreal news conference. “Did she do that because she was confused or because she wanted to keep the reasons to herself for going to Saskatchewan? I have no idea.”
Jean Denis, a lawyer who is representing the family pro bono, explained Major hadn’t slept or eaten in days and was confused when she spoke with the police in Saskatchewan.
“She wanted to keep the details to herself,” Denis said. “For X reason, she gave one version, but afterward retracted that version.”
And so why did she decide to leave Quebec?
“She does not have mental problems,” Denis responded. “She lived through something in her social life that triggered all of this. It’s up to her to decide to discuss this aspect, but it does not concern her family or her partner.”
Livernoche added: “I think this event brought us closer together because I realized while this was happening that my love for her was real, it was deep and she also felt the same way when she called us.”
Images of Karine Major were shown on Canadian news sites for more than a week, and her family set up a Facebook page as the SQ scoured the province in search of her. Livernoche and Annie Major, Karine’s sister, thanked the public for their support at the news conference, but said she now needs her privacy.
The second version of events Major related to provincial police is somewhat vague on the details. Livernoche recounted to reporters Major had met two hitchhikers in Manitoba and they stole her belongings. She then escaped from the hitchhikers and literally walked to Saskatchewan before two good Samaritans helped her, he said.
Major was unaware police had been searching for her and that her case stirred up so much media attention, her sister said.