Coroner confirms remains found in Mille-Îles river are Robert St-Louis, missing for 37 Years
Laval police shared the news Monday on Facebook, officially closing a case that had remained unsolved for 37 years. In a post, they offered condolences to St-Louis's family, praising their 'great resilience' and decades of continued contact with investigators.
St-Louis was 42 when he vanished in June 1988. His beige Jeep Cherokee was located earlier this month in the Mille-Îles River by Exploring With a Mission, a U.S.-based volunteer diving team that searches waterways for missing people. Bones were found inside the vehicle, along with personal belongings including his sunglasses and a distinctive gold watch.
Daniel St-Louis, his son, said the discovery brought a difficult but needed sense of closure.
'We're torn between the 37-year grief that's coming out and also a little bit of satisfaction that, finally, we're going to begin to be able to grieve,' he previously told The Gazette.
The cause of death remains under investigation but Daniel said 'everything seems to point' to suicide.
The discovery was made with the help of sonar equipment near a boat launch in Deux-Montagnes.
The family says it is still deciding how to honour St-Louis, but it will likely involve a pint of O'Keefe's.
With files from The Gazette's Kalina Laframboise
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
6 hours ago
- CBC
The location of his stolen bike is known, but this Winnipegger can't get it back
It only took a few minutes for Louis' bike to get stolen. He was picking up his son from daycare and briefly left his bike unattended and unlocked while he went inside to get his son. When he got outside, his bike was gone. "I immediately pulled up my Find My [app], so like an AirTag, which isn't the greatest tracker, but it is a tracker," the Winnipeg man said. "I decided to put one on because last year I also had a bike stolen … out of the backyard." CBC News has agreed to not share Louis' last name because his bike was stolen near his child's daycare and he's concerned for his family's safety. And while he's reported the theft to the Winnipeg Police Service, as of Friday, he hadn't heard back from them. Louis tracked his bike to a house on Disraeli Street in the Point Douglas area and knocked on the door. A man answered and said his roommate bought a bike earlier that day that matched the description of Louis' bike. "I mentioned that it was teal and orange in colour, and they mentioned, 'Ya, that sounds like the bike I have, that I bought today,'" said Louis. "He mentioned that he just wanted his money back, that he had paid for it." $50 to buy back bike? Louis went to a bank machine so he could buy his own bike back, but when he returned with the $50, the man was gone. That evening, he filed a police report online and registered the bike as stolen with 529 Garage, an anti-theft app. Louis continued to track his bike using the Find My app, hoping he might find it. "I did see a bright teal bike at an encampment on the other side of the bridge of Disraeli, but it was teal and black," said Louis. "There was probably five or six people around it … underneath the street lamp, kind of had three or so bikes around them and they could have been taking parts off, but I'm not sure." 3,000 bikes are stolen in Winnipeg each year Back in June, CBC asked police about bike thefts at the Disraeli encampment, and they said in an email they were investigating bike thefts and "chop shops." The city's website says around 3,000 bikes are stolen each year in Winnipeg. Louis said over the next few days the bike tracker moved around the downtown area. Eventually, it landed at a hotel on Main Street just north of Higgins Avenue. The AirTag says it's still there. He drove down Main Street to see if he could find it. "[Winnipeg Police Service] are probably busy with bigger things than a $500 bike, but when does it become a bigger problem?" said Louis. "I understand that one individual bike is not something they should be pursuing … but at the same time, I'm having to put myself in danger." Police response In a statement to CBC, Winnipeg Police said the stolen bike online report was triaged, and the property crimes unit has been assigned. "For their own safety, the Winnipeg Police Service advises citizens not to attempt to recover stolen property themselves. If someone knows the location of their stolen property, they can call the Non-Emergency Line," said a police statement. Police said anything requiring an immediate response should be reported over the phone. Louis said he did call the non-emergency line, but the automated phone service told him to report the theft online.
Montreal Gazette
18 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Montreal's GardaWorld green lit to bid up to US$138M on ‘Alligator Alcatraz' ICE contracts
A U.S. subsidiary of GardaWorld, the Montreal-based security giant reportedly helping staff the Florida detention site known as 'Alligator Alcatraz,' has been cleared to bid up to US$138 million on ICE contracts. GardaWorld Federal Services, a Virginia-based arm of GardaWorld, was among dozens of companies shortlisted by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) under an emergency procurement programme, government records show. ICE's agreement with GardaWorld's U.S. subsidiary sets a limit of US$138 million (CAN$190 million) on the value of contracts the company can compete for, The Gazette has confirmed. It was first reported by The Globe and Mail. The contracts are part of a sweeping effort by U.S. President Donald Trump to expand detention capacity across the country. GardaWorld was already contracted to provide security and correctional staff at 'Alligator Alcatraz, ' a remote facility in Ochopee, Florida. It is expected to house up to 3,000 detainees. The site has drawn growing criticism from rights groups, who warn of poor oversight, overcrowding and unsafe conditions. It gained notoriety after Trump visited in July and jokingly referred to its swampy surroundings by saying there were 'a lot of police officers in the form of alligators.' Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday that 'Alligator Alcatraz' would serve as a model for future state-run migrant detention centres. She also said she hopes to launch similar facilities in the coming months, including in airports and jails. According to the Miami Herald, GardaWorld was awarded a separate contract worth US$8 million to provide staffing for the Florida facility. In July, The Gazette reported that GardaWorld was seeking armed guards for 'a remote part of southern central Florida,' offering US$25 per hour, plus travel, meals and accommodation. The posting outlined strict requirements for applicants: candidates were required to hold Florida gun and security licences, have at least one year of armed experience, and legally own a registered semi-automatic handgun. GardaWorld provides a wide range of private security services in Canada and abroad, including airport screening, cash transport and personal protection. The company was founded by Stephan Crétier in Montreal, where he used a $30,000 mortgage on his house to launch the business. Today, it remains headquartered in Montreal, though Cretier is now based in Dubai. He is worth nearly $4 billion, according to The Gazette's Rich List. In 2022, Quebec's provincial investment agency, Investissement Québec, invested $300 million in GardaWorld. A provincial spokesperson has previously said the investment was unrelated to the company's U.S. contracts. Twelve people have died in ICE custody so far this year, including Canadian Johnny Noviello, who died at a Miami detention facility in June. This story was originally published
National Post
2 days ago
- National Post
Four dead, including three children, in crash southeast of Quebec City: police
Quebec provincial police say four people are dead, including three children under the age of 10, following a car crash southeast of the provincial capital on Saturday. Article content Quebec provincial police say the victims include a 29-year-old man and and three children all from the Chaudiere-Appalaches region. Article content The crash took place on an unpaved, narrow road in St-Luc-de-Bellechasse, about 65 kilometres southeast of Quebec City. Article content Article content Provincial police say for a reason that remains under investigation, the vehicle slammed into a tree on a rural road in the area about 5:30 p.m. Article content Article content
