Police suspend river search for Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou
Although Montreal police suspect that 10-year-old Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou drowned after falling through the ice on Rivière des Prairies three weeks ago, investigators called off their search of the river on Monday.
“We had to take the tough decision to stop the search on the river because it’s getting dangerous,” said Insp. Ian Lafrenière of the Montreal police. “With the nice weather on the weekend, the ice is melting and there is more water. The current is getting very dangerous.”
Police officers will continue to search along the riverbank for any sign of the missing boy, he said.
However, Ariel’s father, Kouadio Frédéric Kouakou, told reporters in the late afternoon he believes the police department’s decision to suspend the search of the river is a sign that he and they are now working in the same direction because he believes his boy was abducted.
“It gives me more hope,” Kouakou said of the police calling off the search of Rivière des Prairies.
“I’m happy that the SPVM are withdrawing (from the river), so we’ll all have the same energies that will converge in the same direction. In other words, we’ll go together toward the thesis of kidnapping. My family and I give them our full blessing. The God we pray to, we asked him for the strength to give our blessing to this other phase of the investigation.”
On March 21, police told reporters that they believe Ariel drowned in a terrible accident, even though his father maintained that his son was abducted.
Considerable resources have been used to explore that possibility, but investigators have uncovered no evidence to suggest Ariel was kidnapped, police say.
Ariel was last seen entering Parc des Bateliers, adjacent to Rivière des Prairies, on March 12, the day he went missing. Surveillance cameras have images of him entering the park, but police have seen no images of him leaving it.
A woman, whom police described as a credible witness, spoke to Ariel in the park around 11:25 a.m. that day. Ariel was several feet from the river when the woman talked to him, Lafrenière said.
“She asked him why he was there alone on what she thought was a school day,” he said.
Ariel had a pedagogical day on March 12 and had permission from his mother to walk to a friend’s house.
Ariel didn’t know his friend had other plans that day and he headed to the park after discovering his friend was not home.
Divers have not entered the river during the past few days because the current is strong and the water is cold.
An RCMP-trained dog, specialized in searching ice and water, has been sent back home to Halifax because conditions were too difficult on the water.
The police command post will be moved from a strip mall at 2620 de Salaberry St. to police Station 10 in Cartierville.
Ariel stands 4-foot-7 and weighs about 90 pounds. When last seen, he was wearing a black hooded coat, grey pants and yellow shoes.
Anyone with information about him is urged to call 911 or InfoCrime at 514-393-1133.