Remains found in woods are those of girl missing since ’07
• Eight years after she vanished near her home in Trois- Rivieres, Que., nineyear- old Cédrika Provencher has finally been found.
Quebec provincial police said Saturday night that human remains discovered in the woods outside the city were those of Cédrika, who went missing on July 31, 2007.
News of the discovery prompted an outpouring of condolences on social media, including from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“My heart goes out to the family of Cédrika Provencher,” he tweeted. “May you finally be able to mourn your daughter and may she rest in peace.”
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard also expressed his sympathy for the Provencher family on Twitter.
Cédrika’s disappearance spawned massive manhunts, a huge police investigation as well as the recruiting of many others to help find the freckle-faced girl whose missing person posters once graced lamp posts and store fronts across the region.
Despite a large reward and several suspects being questioned over the years, no arrests have been made.
Cédrika was last seen being approached by an adult to help search for a missing dog on the evening of July 31. She was never seen again.
Martin Prud’ homme, directorgeneral of the Quebec provincial police, would not elaborate on whether or not police had any new leads, saying only the case was “progressing.”
Prud’homme, who was part of the team investigating the disappearance in 2007, said he spoke with the young girl’s parents Sunday morning and was at the site where the remains were discovered in the afternoon to check on the investigation.