Helicopters, motorboats, divers: a vast rescue operation was launched on Saturday to find the 1-month-old baby who disappeared Friday evening in the Rivière des Mille Îles, in Laval. The authorities are calling on residents to watch the banks.
Updated yesterday at 11:16 p.m.
“The infant’s body could have traveled several kilometres” due to the time that has elapsed since its disappearance and the strong currents of the river, said Erika Landry, spokesperson for the Laval police department. “People who live on the banks of the Mille Îles River are asked to check the banks of their land,” she added.
After the search was interrupted on Friday evening due to darkness, firefighters and police were dispatched to the river again on Saturday. Only the mother in her thirties and her 4-year-old daughter had been rescued the day before. The one-month-old baby is still missing.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
The scene of the incident, near the Rivière des Mille Îles in Laval
Divers from the Sûreté du Québec were deployed in the area along with firefighters from the Laval Fire Department, who scanned the shore with probes. Helicopters also flew over the scene during the day.
Saturday morning, a dozen residents came to observe the research team out of curiosity. “Nothing has ever happened here,” said Éric Nicolas, who has lived in the Laval-sur-le-Lac neighborhood since 2005. For several years, he has been kayaking on the Rivière des Mille Îles, and he believes that it will be difficult to find the baby given the strength of the currents.
Floating simulations were also carried out on the river on Saturday afternoon to allow officers to better understand the effect of currents.
Submerged vehicle
Police received a call around 5 p.m. Friday reporting a “partially submerged” vehicle in the Mille Îles River, near the intersection of Les Érables Street and Saint-Antoine Road. A mother and her two children dove into the water from their vehicle. The circumstances of the event remain unknown.
The Press spoke with a few residents the evening of the tragedy. According to witnesses, the 4-year-old girl was first rescued by a resident of the LL Laval-sur-le-Lac complex, said Normand Langlois, who lives there himself. The car was also removed from the rapids of the river in front of the establishment on Friday evening.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
The family’s vehicle that was pulled out of the river Friday night
Nancy Désaulniers noticed the little girl in the arms of a paramedic while she was walking on the shore shortly after the event. “She was screaming a lot. She was crying and she said her mother was in the water with a baby,” said the Laval resident.
The mother and her little girl were immediately transferred to a hospital when first responders rescued them. The child was discharged from hospital with family members later Friday evening, but his mother was still hospitalized on Saturday, authorities confirmed. The investigators have not yet questioned her, because of her state of health.
A security perimeter was still established on Saturday. The ongoing investigation is being conducted by Crimes Against the Person investigators.