Family unveils updated poster of Ariel Kouakou 7 years after he went missing in Montreal

CBC News

· Posted: May 15, 2025 1:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

The parents of Ariel Kouakou, the Missing Children's Network and Montreal constabulary unveiled connected Thursday an updated poster of Ariel, who was reported missing 7 years ago.

Ariel disappeared astatine the property of 10 from the Ahuntsic neighbourhood, successful Montreal's northbound end, connected March 12, 2018. At the time, constabulary said they believed the lad fell into a adjacent river.

Last year, the web presented an age-progression representation of Ariel produced by Sûreté du Québec (SQ) experts.

The boy's father, Frédéric Kouakou, told reporters connected Thursday that helium believes the efforts of volunteers and constabulary to find his lad volition not beryllium successful vain.

"Every day, it's existent that we are inactive successful pain, but we are inactive driven by this anticipation of uncovering him," Kouakou said.

Asked however helium could stay hopeful, Kouakou said, "For us, nary assemblage indispensable mean that Ariel is alive. That's 1 happening that nary 1 tin instrumentality distant from me. No 1 tin instrumentality that anticipation from me."

Mélanie Aubut, enforcement manager of the Missing Children's Network, said the poster serves arsenic a reminder that Ariel is inactive missing.

"It's a motion to accidental that we proceed to enactment unneurotic each time truthful that helium comes home," Aubut said. 

Montreal constabulary main Fady Dagher said the lawsuit remains unfastened and, adjacent aft 7 years, police are inactive receiving tips astir the case. However, helium didn't privation to disclose much details to debar jeopardizing the investigation. 

"The caller representation is simply a very, precise important picture. For us, I'm convinced we're going to person much telephone calls and we're going to validate those calls," Dagher said. 

He added that the nationalist shouldn't underestimate the accusation they person and urged radical to study what they know.

Ariel was past seen leaving his location connected ft to sojourn a friend. He has not been seen since.