There remains hope for the families of Mélissa Blais and Yvon Guévin, who disappeared in 2017 and 2014 respectively. Volunteer divers will be conducting new searches this summer to try to find them and lift the veil on the mystery that hangs around them.
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Divers of Hope is reissuing the two files and inviting the public to provide any information that might help resolve these missing persons cases.
“Maybe back then you saw an elderly person parked on the bank with a dog, or people walking in the forest and there were car tracks. Our mission is truly to be a beacon for families. To give them light and relieve them of their burden. Our goal is to find the victim and bring him back to his family,” said Daniel Lamontagne, President of Divers of Hope.
In the case of Yvon Guévin, divers have an interest in the Saint-François river.
In July 2014, the 75-year-old man, who was an avid fisherman, left his home in Pierreville with his dog driving his car, a red Jeep Cherokee.
His body was never found. Neither does his car.
The search for volunteer divers next June brings a glimmer of hope to the family of Yvon Guévin, who has been swimming in mystery for nine years.
“These are angels that fell from heaven. It’s as if my father was put on a shelf and then we bring him back and try to look for him,” commented Dominique Guévin, daughter of Yvon Guévin.
“The Saint-François river, we know it. We know the places where my father used to fish. We can lead them. “There may be people who knew my father, who went with him to places we don’t think of and who can give us clues to help us come full circle,” she continued.
Grief is difficult when the body of a loved one has never been found.
“He knew where he was going. There are indications that this was a voluntary departure. We suspected that he would not return. But we want to find his hiding place,” confessed Marie-Pier Guévin, explaining that the disappearance of his grandfather disrupted the daily life of his entire family.
The bureaucratic procedures are also very lengthy. A missing person is presumed alive for seven years after their disappearance. After this period, a death sentence can be issued.
“It will be 9 years in July and we just sold the house. We couldn’t do anything because everything was in my father’s name,” explained Dominique Guévin.
New research for Mélissa Blais
The Divers of Hope also continue the search for Mélissa Blais.
The mother of the family disappeared in Louiseville in the middle of the night in 2017.
Leads to unsolved murders and enforced disappearances in Quebec prompted her to inspect the waters of the Saint Maurice River in Shawinigan again this summer.
Previous searches pulled four vehicles out of the water in 2021.
But not that of Mélissa Blais. In addition, the divers discover all sorts of objects that are handed over to the police and can help to solve an unsolved case.