Montreal

Escaped Hells Angel René Charlebois found dead

The body of escaped Hells Angel René Charlebois was found during a provincial police operation at a residence in Sainte-Anne-de-Sorel, Que.

Charlebois on the run after minimum security prison break on Sept. 14

Montreal police investigators were on site in Ste-Anne-de-Sorel, Que., where the body of a man believed to be René Charlebois was discovered early Thursday morning. (Elias Abboud/CBC)

The body of René Charlebois, a member of the Hells Angels who escaped from prison on Sept. 14, has been found.

According to information obtained by Radio-Canada, Charlebois's body was discovered by police in a residence on l'île-aux-Fantômes, in Ste-Anne-de-Sorel, Que., early Thursday morning.

L'île aux Fantômes, where the body of escaped Hells Angel René Charlebois was found, is several kilometres north of Sorel-Tracy, Que. (Radio-Canada)

Guards at the minimum-security Montée St-François prison in Laval, Que., discovered he was missing during nighttime headcount on Sept. 14. 

Charlebois was a high-ranking member of the Hells Angels Nomads chapter and had been incarcerated at the Montée St-François Institution since 2003 for, among other charges, killing a police informant.

Officers from the Sûreté du Québec's tactical squad were outside the Ste-Anne-de-Sorel residence around 1:15 a.m. to carry out an arrest warrant when, according to Radio-Canada's sources, they heard a gunshot.

Const. Raphaël Bergeron of the Montreal police said investigators are looking into the possibility that Charlebois committed suicide.

Montreal police are working on the case because of the possible involvement of the SQ in the events leading to Charlebois's death.

SQ officers had gone to the residence to arrest a man for evading lawful custody.

Charlebois isn't the first Montée St-François inmate to escape. Last year, a prisoner who escaped said he simply just pushed a door open and walked out.