Missing Quebec boy found alive in Ontario

A six-year-old boy who had gone missing along with his father after the child’s mother was found dead in Quebec has been found safe in Ontario, police said Friday. (Photo by Misha Sokolnikov/Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

MONTREAL — A six-year-old boy who had gone missing along with his father after the child’s mother was found dead in Quebec has been found safe in Ontario, police said Friday.

Ugo Fredette, 41, and his son, Louka Fredette, disappeared Thursday afternoon.

The boy, who had been the subject of an Amber Alert, was found Friday at about 5 p.m. in Griffith, Ont., about 150 kilometres west of Ottawa, Quebec provincial police said.

“We had an end that everyone hoped for,” Quebec provincial police spokeswoman Martine Asselin told reporters moments after the child was found. “Young Louka was found safe and sound by the (Ontario Provincial Police).

“(Ugo Fredette) was arrested. It’s great news for everyone. The work of media, police and citizens, we thank you all very much.”

Carolle Dionne, spokeswoman for Ontario’s provincial police, said officers on the ground aided by a helicopter were able to stop the vehicle.

Dionne said officers stopped the car southwest of Renfrew, Ont., on Highway 41, which passes through Griffith, Ont.

The OPP said in a release late Friday night that officers deployed a spike belt to stop the vehicle and that Ugo Fredette was apprehended after a short foot pursuit.

The release said Louka Fredette was found in the vehicle in good physical health and had been placed in the care of child services.

It also said his father was scheduled to appear for a bail hearing Saturday on unspecified charges, and that the investigation was ongoing in conjunction with the Surete du Quebec.

Louka’s mother and Fredette’s wife, Veronique Barbe, was found dead Thursday night in a home in Saint-Eustache, Que., north of Montreal.

Police say Barbe had four children, including three before her relationship with Fredette.

Asselin said the car in which Louka was found in was previously used by a 71-year-old man who was reported missing.

She said police were asking the public for help in finding Yvon Lacasse, who they believe could have been dropped off somewhere by Fredette.

Fredette worked on a documentary about Cedrika Provencher, who was nine years old when she disappeared from her home in Trois-Rivieres 10 years ago. Her remains were found in a wooded area in December 2015.

Her grandfather, Henri Provencher, who runs the Cedrika Provencher Foundation, posted an appeal on Facebook earlier, urging Fredette to turn over his son to police.

“I appeal to your father’s heart, do not commit the irremediable,” Provencher said. “Thank you for acting as a responsible father Ugo. Think of your child.”