TROIS-RIVIÈRES – The Mauricie region is celebrating a sad anniversary: it will be 15 years, Saturday, that Sébastien Dupuis is missing. His family does not lose hope of finding him one day, while the mystery surrounding his disappearance remains unresolved.
Nicole Lemay thinks of her son every day. Fifteen years have passed, and there is still no trace of the young man and no significant clue as to what happened to him.
“It’s hard to wait. At some point, you have to stop waiting and start hoping. Hope to find him, ”said Nicole Lemay, Friday, in an interview with the camera of TVA Nouvelles.
Sébastien Dupuis was 24 years old at the time of his disappearance. On August 15, 2005, he left the family residence in Saint-Paulin. It was 11:30 p.m. He left by bike with a friend on route 349 between Saint-Didace and Saint-Alexis-des-Monts. In the early morning, he left his friend and was never seen again.
“We feel that Sébastien is with us. But, over the years, I removed photos from the living room library because it was too difficult. I kept one in my room and in his old room, ”continued Mr.me Lemay.
Police investigation
The file is still open at the Sûreté du Québec (SQ). In recent years, the family has provided DNA samples to the police to facilitate identification if Sébastien’s body were to be found.
“Over the years, there have been checks. We have a team at the Sûreté du Québec that coordinates unresolved disappearance files. We check whether there are other steps to be taken. Unfortunately, in this case, it has not been found to date, ”explained Sergeant Éloïse Cossette, spokesperson for the SQ.
Each year, 15,000 reports of disappearances are made to the various police forces in the province. The majority of the files are cleared up. But some, like that of Sébastien Dupuis, are trampling. Nicole Lemay is convinced that the body of her son, who is now 39 years old, is in Saint-Alexis-des-Monts and that one day he will finally be found.
“There are three hypotheses, either he was killed, or he committed suicide or he had an accident,” said Sébastien Dupuis’ mother.
Last year, the family placed a tombstone in the Saint-Paulin cemetery in order to have a place to worship while waiting for answers to their questions.
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