Surete du Quebec officers block the road accessing a search area near Saint-Apollinaire, Que. on July 11, 2020.The Canadian Press
The search for a Quebec man suspected in the deaths of his two daughters has settled into a slow grind as provincial police confront the hard realities of looking for someone in a thick summer forest, authorities and wilderness experts say.
Even as the province watches the case closely, and autopsies of the girls remain secret until their father’s discovery, it is becoming clear that the manhunt through the woods southwest of Quebec City could take a long time.
Mother delivers tearful tribute as manhunt continues for Quebec father after daughters found dead
Martin Carpentier, a 44-year-old Scout leader, has been missing since last Wednesday, when his badly damaged car was found on the highway near Lévis, Que. He had last been seen earlier that day at a convenience store with his daughters, six-year-old Romy and 11-year-old Norah, who were also declared missing, launching the longest Amber Alert in Quebec history. The bodies of the girls were found in the woods near Saint-Apollinaire, Que., close to the damaged car, on Saturday.
How the children died and Mr. Carpentier’s role remain unknown. Authorities say they are not yet releasing autopsy results for the girls to protect the integrity of the investigation.
Martin Carpentier, 44, is shown in this undated police handout photo.The Canadian Press
The search for Mr. Carpentier continues in a 50-kilometre radius near where his crashed car was found. Among the few traces he left at the accident was a half-melted ice cream. Provincial police have since discovered “objects of interest” near where the bodies of his daughters were found, but otherwise evidence of Mr. Carpentier’s whereabouts has been thin.
Closer to the ground, dog teams and trained on-foot searchers are pushing through thick undergrowth that heat and rain have made more treacherous.
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Wilderness survival experts and criminal psychologists agree that Mr. Carpentier’s prospects are grim after seven days in thickly wooded terrain, facing hot days and cold nights, hunted by dogs and an equestrian squad, the bodies of his daughters recently discovered nearby.
But police are continuing to ask for tips about Mr. Carpentier’s possible location and urging locals to lock their doors. “We’re asking people to remain vigilant,” Sgt. Mathieu said.
The force has also been following up on reported sightings of Mr. Carpentier across the province, as far away as the Gaspé peninsula, hundreds of kilometres east. On Monday, a team of officers raced to a field in a neighbouring village only to determine the tip was unfounded. Some of the calls have been more far-fetched than others – “The chances of finding him in the Gaspésie are slim,” Sgt. Mathieu acknowledged – but the SQ continues to welcome information from the public.
The daily grind of searching amid the thickets of ferns, maples, and evergreens for signs of a single middle-aged man would be exhausting for any force, said Mathieu Hébert, co-founder of the survival and tracking company Les Primitifs. Humans leave few traces in a summer forest. He often asks clients to take 10 paces from where they are standing in the woods and then try to find their prints. Few can manage.
Even with the best techniques and training, looking for someone in so large a space with such thick plant cover is a daunting task, Mr. Hébert said. “It’s a bit like fishing, sometimes you get a million bites, sometimes you get nothing.”
The odds for Mr. Carpentier, however, appear to be even steeper. Heat, exhaustion, hunger, thirst, and reduced decision-making capacity are just some of the challenges that an unprepared person would face during a long stretch alone in the forest, Mr. Hébert said. Nighttime temperatures just over 10 degrees can also trigger hypothermia and cause the body to burn precious calories to stay warm. Even with Scout training, Mr. Carpentier would be severely tested by spending a week as a fugitive in the woods.
“It would be like if we trained in boxing and then went and fought the champion of the world – it wouldn’t go well,” Mr. Hébert said. “Nature is the champion of the world.”
Lévis Mayor Gilles Lehouillier said the community is not concerned about the presence of a fugitive in the area, but is rather united in shock and grief over the deaths of Norah and Romy.
The gazebo in a local park has become a makeshift memorial for the girls, piled high with stuffed animals and notes of condolence, while city council convened an emergency session on Monday and held a minute of silence. Social services organizations have been directed to help support the many families who knew the sisters, “dynamic girls who were at the heart of community organizations” including city day camps, the mayor said.
“There’s no fear or anxiety,” he added. “But it’s certainly an extreme pain that people are feeling.”
Editor’s note: (July 15, 2020): In a previous version of this story it was stated that, according to the Sûreté du Québec, a Canadian Armed Forces plane was assisting with the ongoing manhunt in the province. In fact, while the CAF assisted with the search for the missing girls last week, they are no longer involved with the search for Martin Carpentier.
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Eric Andrew-Gee