Parents of Missing Quebec Girl Enlist Help of Journalist to Find Their Child

TROIS-RIVIERES, Que. (CP) – The parents of a missing Quebec girl say they are convinced that someone is holding back information about their child’s whereabouts.

Nine-year-old Cedrika Provencher, a smiling freckle-faced girl, disappeared on July 31. Witnesses have told police she was helping a man look for a lost dog.

“I am convinced that someone, somewhere knows something,” her mother Karine Fortier told a news conference.

“The main goal is to find Cedrika, that’s the only thing we want.”

Fortier and the girl’s father, Martin Provencher, have asked a well-known Quebec journalist for his help in the case.

The parents said they believe someone has relevant information and they want crime reporter Claude Poirier to be the one who receives it and helps negotiate her possible release.

Poirier told the news conference he will keep a telephone line open around the clock for any pertinent information that leads to the girl, and says he isn’t acting on behalf of police.

He told “idiots” not to bother calling and asked only those with specific information leading to the girl to call him.

Poirier is a household name in Quebec and some criminals have turned themselves into him over the years before going to police.

Last week, police said they have no reason to believe the girl is dead and have had credible tips that she has been sighted in eastern Quebec’s Gaspe region.

Fortier said she trusts Poirier’s experience as a negotiator and hopes he can move the case forward.

She reminded anyone with information who may be afraid to come forward that the $80,000 reward is from donations and not tied to the police. She stressed the only goal is to find her child.

Provencher noted that Cedrika will turn 10 on Wednesday.

“I hope with all of my heart that we have her back for her birthday,” he said.