Dozens of police officers raked a wooded area of Quebec on Sunday in search of a man, suspected of having abducted his two little girls found dead on Saturday, a drama that aroused great emotion in the French Canadian province. The two girls, Norah, 11, and her sister Romy, 6, were last seen Wednesday evening with their father Martin Carpentier. Their bodies were found Saturday in a wood and an autopsy will be held to determine the exact cause of their death.
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) then concentrated its efforts in a manhunt to find Matin Carpentier, 44, but he remained untraceable Sunday mid-afternoon, despite the importance of the means put in artwork. Several dozen police officers participated in the hunt with all-terrain vehicles, a helicopter, a drone and a dog handler. According to the police, Martin Carpentier was a scout leader and could have knowledge of forest survival.
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The news of the two girls' deaths had been greeted with dismay in Quebec. The Premier of Quebec, François Legault, said he was "upset" about a "national tragedy" . "As a parent, this tragedy is incomprehensible," tweeted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying "having a broken heart" for the family of two children.
The provincial police launched an alert for the disappearance of children on Wednesday and undertook searches in an area located south of Quebec City, after the disappearance of the two girls with their father. The parents of the two children were separated. Martin Carpentier's vehicle was found accidentally in the evening of Wednesday, in circumstances which remain mysterious. The vehicle rolled over several times and the police arrived on the scene and found no one on board or in the vicinity.
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