A young Anishinaabe man from Lac Simon was found weak but safe and sound after being lost for 33 days in the forest in northern Quebec.
Percy James Poucachiche was found Aug. 24 across the lake from his community of Lac Simon, after a large volunteer effort to find him.
Lac Simon is located east of Val d’Or and south of Senneterre, about 600 kilometres north of Montreal.
The 26-year-old had been reported missing on July 23.
“Everybody’s happy. The community, the council.… The community showed its strength, because everybody got together, they showed up,” said Daniel Pien, who helped co-ordinate the search with dozens of people, with support from the Sûreté du Québec.
“His mother had faith that she would find him. She never lost hope,” said Pien. “She prayed. She was surrounded by many women, who supported her and helped her through.”
On July 21, Poucachiche decided to stay in a tent in the bush not too far from his community. It was something he had done in the past and his mother arranged to bring him food.
But after the first night, when she arrived with the food, Poucachiche was not around. The next day she reported him missing to provincial police.
Searchers came from Lac Simon, but also from Val d’Or and other surrounding towns. At times, there were more than 60 searchers.
FULL STORY:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/atikamekw-percy-poucachiche-lac-simon-search-1.6569423
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1908040/soiree-hommage-retrouvailles-percy-james-poucachiche
