On April 12, 2017, around 9 p.m., Hélène Martineau was reported missing to the police of the city of Saguenay by her spouse, Michel Larouche. That morning, the 48 year-old woman went to her employer, the Jonquière hospital, to submit a doctor’s note extending her work leave.
Around 11:30 a.m., surveillance cameras at the Place du Royaume shopping center captured Hélène at the Garage store where she had gone to exchange a piece of clothing for one of her three daughters. According to her immediate neighbor, she would have returned to her residence, located in the Sainte-Thérèse district of the Arvida sector, around 12:15 p.m. No one saw her afterwards.
At the time of her disappearance, Hélène was suffering from depression and was about to visit her twin sister in Alberta, who had sent her a first text message at 8:45 a.m., then a second at 12:45 p.m., because she was waiting for a confirmation from her sister for the purchase of the plane ticket. This confirmation never came. Her relatives are convinced that Hélène would never have left without telling anyone, especially since she was very attached to her family.
According to Hélène’s husband, she left the house with the intention of seeing him. He says, however, that he has not seen her or spoken to her that day. Around 6 p.m., one of the couple’s three daughters was worried that she could not find her mother at the family home. Hélène did not bring a bag, her cell phone or wallet.
Many aerial and underwater searches have been carried out in the vicinity of the Saguenay River, particularly in the hiking places where she used to walk such as the trails of the Manoir du Saguenay. The lands near the golf club and the sewage treatment plant were also searched. Hélène’s body was never found.
The couple’s residence has been combed through on April 21st, without result. Searches were also conducted on two vehicles belonging to Hélène’s relatives, including her spouse’s, as well as on a property belong to Michel.
On April 24, 2017, the Sûreté du Québec confirmed that murder was considered.
Hélène Martineau has brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a black toque and a North Face brand jacket when she was last seen. She is 1.67 meters tall and weighed around 61 kilograms.
Any information related to this disappearance can be reported anonymously to the Sûreté du Québec info-crime line at 1-800-659-4264. You can also communicate anonymously with Meurtres et Disparitions Irrésolus du Québec at 819-200-4628 and [email protected].
Source: Translation from French by Sabrina Gilbert-Girard
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