HAPPY ENDING TO AMBER ALERT
Boy, 6, found safe and sound in Ontario
Nearly 24 hours after six-year-old Louka Fredette was abducted from the home in St-Eustache where his mother had been killed, triggering one of the longest Amber Alerts in Quebec history and a search spanning two provinces, Louka was found safe in Ontario Friday afternoon.
His father, Ugo Fredette, was arrested by Ontario Provincial Police after officers laid down a spike strip to disable the car he was driving on a forested stretch of Highway 41 in Griffith, Ont., about 115 kilometres west of Ottawa. Media reported police Tasered Fredette to apprehend him after he bolted from the car and started running.
It was the end of a chase that saw Fredette cover more than 1,500 km, driving from St-Eustache, just north of Montreal, 500 km into northern Quebec Thursday night, only to head to eastern Ontario Friday morning. Ultimately it was the concerted work of police and the power of social media that tracked Fredette down, with numerous people calling in his whereabouts to 911 when he or the car he was driving was spotted.
The operation was still ongoing late Friday. The Sûreté du Québec said it was asking the public’s help to find 71-year-old Yvon Lacasse, who was driving the car Fredette stole in order to flee to Ontario, possibly from Lachute.
Police did not release details about Lacasse earlier for fear of prompting a hostage situation, they said. It is not yet known if the car was stolen from Lacasse, or if he is a friend of Fredette.
Ugo Fredette is suspected of killing Louka’s mother, Véronique Barbe, Thursday afternoon in StEustache, then abducting their son and fleeing. Neighbours and family said the two had separated recently and argued frequently. Family members told the Montreal Gazette they had warned Barbe to stay away from Fredette because he had been aggressive and erratic in recent months.
Police found Barbe’s body at her home around 5 p.m., then discovered Louka was missing, They trigged the Amber Alert at 7:25 p.m. Thursday.
A white Ford pickup believed to have been used in the abduction was found abandoned near a service station in Lachute at around 2 a.m.
Then, on Friday morning, the SQ reported Fredette had spent the night at a motel in Rouyn-Noranda, 600 km north of Lachute. He was later reportedly spotted in Maniwaki on Friday morning between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., 400 km to the south. Later in the day, witnesses reported seeing him in a dark grey Honda CR-V near Napanee, Ont., another 375 km west. Never was it reported that Louka had been seen.
With the number of spottings multiplying, police finally zeroed in on him near Griffith, Ont. After the takedown, Louka Fredette was taken to a hospital for an examination, but police reported he had not been injured.
Police technicians and a mobile lab were investigating the crime scene at Barbe’s house in St-Eustache. Barbe’s Facebook page showed pictures of her with four children, including Louka, and with Fredette. Reports said only Louka was Fredette’s child.
A sign in front of the house advertised a home daycare. Some neighbours said that some parents had removed their children from the daycare in the summer because of arguments between the couple.
A neighbour said the couple argued loudly at times, and that although the couple had separated, Fredette would go to the house to cut the grass and take out garbage.
Alexandre Marceau described Louka as a boy who was always full of energy and always smiling. He said he would see Barbe every morning as he left for work as she was bringing her kids to the bus stop for school.
“When you speak of someone who didn’t deserve this, that was her,” another neighbour said. “She loved kids. She loved life.”
Fredette worked at numerous jobs, including selling tools and as an exterminator. He was also a co-producer on several films that focused on unsolved crimes and abductions. A recent production involved the case of Cédrika Provencher, a nine-year-old girl abducted in Trois-Rivières in 2007.