Family marks 25 years since Julie Surprenant's disappearance, vows to keep her memory alive

The 25-year anniversary of the disappearance of Julie Surprenant is on Saturday but her family will not let her memory be forgotten.

 “It's a sad day, you know, but we have to try to find a [way to be] positive on this day,” said Surprenant’s father, Michel Surprenant.

Michel said he would be spending this difficult anniversary with family, adding that he thinks about his daughter every day. The 71-year-old said he has a lot of restless nights thinking about her.

“She was always happy. She always had a smile. She was always ready to help anybody in need,” he recounted.

On Nov. 16, 1999, Surprenant was last seen getting off the bus, less then 50 metres from her Terrebonne home. The 16-year-old was supposed to have dinner with her father, but she never made it.

Her disappearance baffled police. No arrests were made.

In 2012, a coroner concluded Surprenant was likely kidnapped and murdered by a convicted sex offender: the family’s neighbour Richard Bouillon.

The case was re-opened in 2011 when a nurse came forward saying that Bouillon made a death bed confession.

He said he killed Surprenant and dumped her body in the Mille Iles River. Divers searched the river, but she was never found.

“We always have a doubt about what he said,” Michel said.

Michel has since dedicated a lot of his time to helping families with missing children.

He has called for stricter laws against sexual predators and added that helping others is what has helped him.

“We are proud about what we did,” he said.

Twenty-five years later, he said he has learned to accept the situation but refuses to move on until his daughter is found.

“I don't know where, but she's waiting for me.”