A victim's rights group teamed up with the Missing Children's Network Monday to repeat a demand for a special police squad devoted to missing persons cases.
The initiative was spearheaded by Michel Surprenant, whose daughter Julie vanished ten years ago Monday.
The Association for Families of Murdered or Missing Persons says that 600 to 700 people have disappeared in last 30 years in Montreal alone and that 85 per cent of them have never been found.
The group adds that governments have created three economic-crime squads in the past several months while missing persons cases remain unsolved.
"When somebody disappears, it has to be considered as a crime," Surprenant told CTV's Herb Luft during a news conference Monday at the Montreal courthouse.
"So it's important to deploy people at the first moment of the disappearance."
Stats
The Missing Children's Network says 200 children remain missing from among the more than 8,000 children who vanished last year. Spokeswoman Pina Arcamone says a special police unit would allow for better sharing of information between police services.
"We have statistics that show the importance of the first three hours of a search ... if you want to find this child alive and well."
Tougher laws
The murdered and missing persons group also repeated a longstanding call for stricter penalties for repeat offenders.
There had been a suspect in the disappearance of Julie Surprenant but police say there was never enough evidence to charge him.
He died in prison while serving time for unrelated sex crimes.
The advocacy group also wants stricter parole conditions as well as a sex-offender registry.
