Cold case: Quebec woman who has not been seen since 2008 could be in Ontario

Lawyer Marc Bellemare believes that Marilyn Bergeron, who disappeared from her parents' home in Quebec City more than 14 years ago, could be in Ontario.

Bellemare, who was minister of justice and attorney general of Quebec in 2003 and 2004, accompanied her parents, Michel Bergeron and Andrée Béchard, who "have been looking for Marylin pretty much every day for the last 15 years," during a press conference Friday. They are renewing calls to the public to help find Bergeron. 

They were also joined by a man Bellemare described as "an important witness" -- Guy Salicco, who says Bergeron briefly visited his Hawksbury, Ont. residence in 2009 to escape the rain and make a phone call. 

"It was around 2 or 3 a.m.," recounted Salicco. "She was very polite," and very "thin." She did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or other substances, he said.

"She seemed normal, completely normal," he said. She did not give him her name. 

She asked them to use their home phone to call someone staying on Chamberlain St. in Hawkesbury. After apologizing for showing up in the middle of the night, she left.  

Salicco says it was only when he learned of Bergeron's disappearance later that he phoned police -- he was one of 40 people who called in tips to police in the city, Bellemare said.

'WE ARE ASKING YOU TO BREAK YOUR SILENCE'

On February 17, 2008, Marilyn Bergeron, who was 24 years old at the time, left her parents' home to take a walk, she told them.

The last images available of Bergeron come from an ATM security camera in Quebec City, and police tracked her spending to a restaurant in Saint-Romuald, in Levis.

She has not been heard from since.

This is the last known image captured of Marilyn Bergeron, who was last seen in 2008 when she said she was leaving her parents' house for a walk. This picture was captured at a Quebec City ATM after her disappearance. The family renewed calls to Ontario residents on Oct. 28, 2022, to come forward if they know anything about her location.

On the day of her disappearance, Marilyn Bergeron had brown hair and a horse tattoo on the right side of her chest. Salicco said she had been wearing blue jeans and a white shirt when she visted. 

"Although the investigation led by the Quebec City Police Service remains active, our family feels that it is essential to continue to aid these investigations," said Bergeron's mother, Michel, who said she wanted to hold a press conference to address the population of Ontario, who might be able to help find her daughter. 

She added that testimony from Salicco and other witnesses continues to help their investigation, and that thanks to them, she and her team are sure Bergeron passed through Hawkesbury. 

"I recognized my daughter in every detail [Salicco] offered to describe the young woman" who visited him that night, she said.

"If you know something, or if you have any information, we are asking you to break your silence.”

Anyone with information on the case can call:

• The family's lawyers at [phone]
• Quebec City police (418) 681-AGIR (2887)
• Ontario police: 1-888 310-1122
• Or to speak with the family, call: 1-800 840-1526

With files from The Canadian Press