Robert St-Louis’ family never stopped looking for him, after his mysterious disappearance in June 1988. Now that his probable bones and his car have been found in the River des Mille îles, in Deux-Montagnes, last Sunday, mourning can finally begin.
“My father was a straight and proud man,” recalls Daniel St-Louis, the son of the disappeared. Fourrer by profession, Robert St-Louis lived in Laval with his wife and five children. In love with the great outdoors, he was often going to hunt and fish on the thousand islands river, a passion he liked to transmit to his children.
“As soon as we had time, it was our moment, to me and my father. We were going into fishing, ”says Daniel St-Louis on the phone, while he walks by boat on the Richelieu river.
One day in June 1988, Robert St-Louis did not return home. Neither the next day nor the next day. “At the beginning, I didn’t take this seriously. I thought he had gone to fishing or that he had gone to see his brother, ”said Daniel St-Louis, who was then 18 years old.
After four days, Daniel St-Louis’s mother announced to him that her father was missing. “The Laval police did not take this seriously, since he was a major man without a legal history,” he deplores. But my sister, Nathalie, she never stopped looking for him. »»
It was Nathalie St-Louis who joined the organization murders and irresolus disappearances of Quebec (MDIQ) and the divers of the American organization Exploring with a mission, which conducts research to resolve mysteries and find people who have been missing in many countries.
Photo taken from the Exploring with Mission Facebook page
Divers extiring Robert St-Louis’ car from the Mille îles River
But last Sunday, after a few hours of research, the Jeep Cherokee Beige which belonged to Robert St-Louis appeared on the Sonar of Divers. Bones, probably those of the 42 -year -old father, were there.
I felt a whole mix of emotions. Peace, yes, because finally, it was the good time. But it was difficult, too. Another part of me just couldn’t believe it.
Daniel St-Louis, son of the disappeared
End of false hopes
Daniel St-Louis was first skeptical about looking for his father in the river near Deux-Montagnes. “We had, false hopes, in 37 years, and each research had proven to be zero,” he explains.
In 2021, the family thought they had found it when a homeless man named Bob St-Louis was identified in the United States, to Toledo, Ohio, with the help of Mdiq. But a DNA test taught them that they had been on the wrong track.
Finally, Robert St-Louis’ car was found near the place where he took his children fishing, in a deep and little frequented area of the river. The family is of the opinion that he died by suicide.
The fur industry to which Robert St-Louis had devoted his career very badly in the 1980s, underlines Daniel St-Louis. “There was no more work in there. But he kept everything inside. In his head, a man, it didn’t cry, it didn’t show his emotions. »»
Photo Josie Desmarais, Archives La Presse
A detective cordon near the Rivière des Mille Îles, where the bones and the car of Robert St-Louis would have been found
The discovery of his father’s probable bones allows Daniel St-Louis to finally start mourning. “It even brought me closer to my sisters. I had moved away from my family a little when I left for my studies a long time ago, but we found ourselves thanks to all that. »»
Daniel St-Louis also underlines the support that the Laval police service offered his family during this research. “We are far from what happened 37 years ago,” he adds. The police investigation is still underway.
The family is now preparing a ceremony in memory of Robert St-Louis. Then children plan toast together with their father’s favorite beer, the O’Keefe. “We’re going to drink one with his health. It’s a bit funny, because good … It’s not drinkable, in my eyes, this beer, “laughs Daniel St-Louis.
Today, Daniel St-Louis will often fish on the Richelieu river, aboard a boat which he bought in memory of his father. And tradition continues: it is now his two daughters who accompany him.