On Saturday morning, around 100 people gathered at the Montreal Police command post at Galeries Normandie to look for 10-year-old Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou.
“People that never met him, never knew him, never met his parents – they’re here to help,” said Laval resident and volunteer Sana Jerdak.
Family and members of the community retraced the steps of the missing boy.
They started at Ariel’s home and walked along Gouin Boulevard, towards Ariel’s friend’s home.
READ MORE: Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou’s family hires private investigator to explore kidnapping theory
Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou’s father, Kouadio Frédéric Kouakou, said the family was offering a $10,000 reward to the person who could help them find their son and urged anyone with information to contact police.
“Please help us,” said Kouakou. “Please, we want our kid. Please, we want our son Ariel. We miss him so much. Five long nights without sleep – can you imagine that?”
Ariel was last seen on Monday, when he left his home in the city’s Ahuntsic-Cartierville district to go to a friend’s house.
While the family believes he was abducted, police said they’ve found little direct evidence to suggest what happened to him and they’re considering all possibilities.
“Somebody somewhere must have seen something,” said Ariel’s uncle Charles N’gakon.”It’s impossible that no one didn’t see anything.”
Officers have used boats, horses, a helicopter and all-terrain vehicles to search a river and a wooded riverside park where someone matching the boy’s description was last seen at about 2 p.m. on Monday.
READ MORE: So many volunteers joined the search for Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou that police told them to stop coming
“We continued the work that we started yesterday,” said Picard. “We’re gonna finish the door-to-door and finish to clear the backyards that we didn’t have the time to do yesterday.”
Montreal police have also been interviewing witnesses and reviewing security camera footage as well as more than 120 tips from the public.
“We all have our own Ariel at home,” said Jerdak. “We all worry about our children, what’s gonna happen to them, if this is ever gonna happen again. So it’s very important to show that we all unite together.”
WATCH: It’s been five days since Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou has been missing and parents are sending a desperate plea for help. But as Gloria Henriquez reports, in their darkest hour, more than 100 people came out to show their support.
On Friday night, several dozen people held a candlelight vigil and short march that ended in front of the family’s home.
Hours earlier, the boy’s mother spoke to reporters, where she appeared unsteady on her feet as she made an emotional plea for her son’s return.
“It’s been four days that I can’t sleep, I miss my son,” she said, flanked by family members who held her arms to support her.
“Help me find my son, I’m begging you,” she said a moment later.
— With files from The Canadian Press.
Comments