Family of Ariel Kouakou launch new campaign to find missing boy
Borough is putting up billboards, posters, distributing buttons to raise awareness
The family of 10-year-old Ariel Kouakou is launching a new effort to bolster the search for their missing son, last seen March 12, in collaboration with the Missing Children's Network and the Montreal borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville.
The group has produced two billboards, flyers, posters and 1,000 buttons featuring a photo of Ariel and a number to call if anyone wants to come forward with information.
Frédéric Kouakou, Ariel's father, spoke at a news conference Wednesday, thanking those who had helped support the effort thus far and urging people to keep his son in their thoughts.
"Hope is alive," he said. "Our hope is huge."
His parents have repeatedly said they believe their son was abducted, while police have publicly said their primary hypothesis is that the boy fell into the nearby river.
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Kouakou said the family was "continually in contact with the investigators," and that they appreciate the work of Montreal police and Info-Crime over the past two months.
Pina Arcamone, executive director of the Missing Children's Network, said that it would be important to keep the boy's disappearance in the public eye in case someone sees something relevant to the case.
"We are not abandoning the search for Ariel," she said. "We have found absolutely nothing, not an item of clothing, an accessory, that belongs to this little boy. So we need to keep hope alive."
A vigil will be held at Église Sainte-Odile at 4545 de Salaberry Street, Saturday at 11 a.m.
Here are details about Ariel, who speaks French:
- About four feet seven inches tall, weighing 88 pounds.
- Dark hair and dark eyes.
- Last seen wearing a black coat with a hood, grey pants and yellow shoes.