An Amber Alert for two missing girls has been cancelled after the bodies of Romy Carpentier and Norah Carpentier were found, the Sûreté du Québec confirms.
The SQ still won’t confirm whether the girls are deceased but say their bodies were found ‘inanimate.’
“The father Martin Carpentier is still missing,” said SQ agent Sgt. Ann Mathieu.
Police are warning residents of St-Apollinaire to be vigilant as a manhunt is underway.
Quebec Premier François Legault expressed his sadness about the news on social media on Saturday, calling it a ‘national tragedy’.
“Like all Quebecers, I am overwhelmed, without words. Losing two children, the most expensive thing in life, is incomprehensible,” Legault wrote on Twitter.
The SQ earlier in the morning located miscellaneous items in a forested area in Quebec that could potentially be linked to the two young girls and their father.
According to Mathieu, there is still no confirmation the items belong to the young girls. The objects were found around the area of the Rang du Bois-Joly and Rang du Bois de l’Ail.
On Thursday, an Amber Alert was issued at 3 p.m. in an attempt to locate the girls aged 11 and 6 and their father Martin Carpentier, 44, who police say likely abducted them in Lévis, Quebec.
Police have reasonable suspicion to believe the trio were involved in a car crash on Highway 20 on Wednesday night in eastern Quebec and left the scene on foot.
The Canadian military has also come in for reinforcement, according to Mathieu.
“A helicopter from the Canadian military came to support the aerial search (on Friday),” she said.
Since, Martin Carpentier’s girlfriend made a public plea on social media to her boyfriend on Friday asking him to give his family a sign of life.
In a video released by the Quebec provincial police, Cathy Gingras says in tears, “Martin, we’re worried. We haven’t heard from you since the accident. We’re wondering if you’re okay, the girls, Romy, Norah.”
“Give us some news, give us a sign, call your parents, anything. What’s important is that you’re OK, we don’t care about anything else. We just want to know you’re OK,” Gingras continues.
The 44-year-old suspect was last seen wearing a grey t-shirt, jeans, and might be wearing glasses. He measures around 5’10 and weighs 130 pounds.
Norah, 11, is described as thin and stands at 5’2. She was last seen wearing a white cap and white Nike sandals.
Romy, 6, weighs 43 pounds and stands at 3 feet. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt, heart-shaped earrings and red nail polish.
The police search is centred on a rural area of St-Apollinaire, and ATVs, police dogs and a helicopter have been used.
Police say they searched over 150 kilometres of wooded areas and roads on Friday.
— With files from The Canadian Press, Global’s Alessia Simona Maratta, Kalina Laframboise & Felicia Parrillo.
via Quebec Amber Alert cancelled after ‘inanimate’ bodies of two missing girls found | Globalnews.ca
