Tips pour in about slain Gatineau teen

Police in Gatineau, Que., say they have already started receiving credible information about the murder of teen Valérie Leblanc, a day after police released a sketch of an "important witness."

Leblanc's body was found badly beaten and burned in a forest behind Cégep de l'Outaouais in Gatineau two months ago.

Police have no suspects, but they did release a sketch of a man Thursday described as an "important witness" in the slaying who was seen wearing a black hat.

They posted the image on their website and a Facebook page.

Investigators say the sketch — which has also been distributed to police departments in Quebec and Ontario — has led to over 100 phone calls.

"We take every tip, every [piece of] information very seriously, so we will work on that and make sure that we follow-up on those tips," said Const. Pierre Lanthier with the Gatineau Police Service. 

On Thursday, Leblanc's mother, Julie Charron, spoke about her pain after her 18-year-old daughter was found dead and pleaded for the public's help to solve the case.

Leblanc went missing on her first day of school in late August and her body was found by some students near a path Aug. 23. An autopsy later showed she was killed by severe blows to the head.

The page includes reader comments encouraging people to forward the information on to their friends. Others have written that they hope their efforts will help police find Leblanc's killer, while others write they want to do all they can to help the family. 

Police said there have been more than 500 tips related to this homicide investigation and repeated their call for more information.

The force also offered a $10,000 reward for information related to the case. The amount was raised by donations, police added.

Police said they're confident that the sketch and the reward will provide some good leads that will help them solve the case.