Family Still Seeks Answers 61 Years After P.E.I. Woman Vanished

Read The File
Unsupported Browser! This website will offer limited functionality in this browser. We only support the recent versions of major browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.
UCF #104200058

Is Marilyn Bergeron Still Alive Somewhere in Canada?


Marilyn Bergeron

Marilyn Bergeron

Saint-Romuald, Quebec — Marilyn Bergeron, 24, left her parents' home around 11 am on February 17, 2008 ostensibly to go for a walk, leaving all her identification at home besides a credit card. She attempted to withdraw money from a nearby ATM, where security camera footage released later showed her looking nervously over her shoulder. Her attempt to withdraw $60 was declined. Five hours later, she used her credit card to buy a cup of coffee in Saint-Romuald, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from her parents' house.

Quebec City police (SPVQ), who continue to investigate, have theorized that Bergeron committed suicide. Her family, who has put up a reward for information leading to the resolution of the case, believes she may have instead met with foul play.

Shortly before her disappearance she had moved back to Quebec City from Montreal, where she told her parents, without being specific, that something had happened there and she no longer felt safe living on her own.

Due to this, and the jurisdictional limitations of the SPVQ, the family has repeatedly petitioned the provincial Ministry of Public Security to order the case file transferred to either the Montreal police or the Surete du Quebec, both of whom they feel could make more progress; the request has been refused.

In 2017, a friend who knew Bergeron in Montreal confirmed that she had grown increasingly fearful and reclusive there in the two months before her disappearance. He said he had asked her if she had been raped or witnessed a crime. She said what had happened to her was "worse" than that, but refused to elaborate.

Her family said it was obvious something was deeply troubling her. "Is there light at the end of this tunnel?" she asked her sister, Nathalie, over the phone. She said she did not want to return to Montreal again. But she would not say why. "We tried to get her to talk but she wouldn't talk, she would only cry", Nathalie told the Montreal Gazette a year later.

Marilyn Bergeron
Bergeron, who was 24 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen on Feb. 17, 2008. She left her family's home to go for a walk and never returned.

Her mother Andrée Béchard confronted her about what had happened in Montreal that so perturbed her that she had to return home so quickly and leave behind her life there, apparently for good. Marilyn specifically denied that her problems involved drugs, debts, or a relationship. When Andrée then asked Marilyn if she had been "assaulted", Marilyn said nothing.

Many sightings of her have been reported since her disappearance, especially in areas of Ontario just outside Quebec.

According to CBC News, in December night in 2009, a man named Guy Salicco and his wife were sleeping in their Hawkesbury, Ontario home when their doorbell rang and came face-to-face with Marilyn Bergeron.

When Salicco opened the door that night, he said the woman in front of him was "cold, frail, wet" and barely dressed for the weather. All she had was a light jacket, a white T-shirt, jeans and high heels. And she was crying. According to Salicco, she said she was looking for someone in Hawkesbury, and asked if she could come in and use the phone.

He let her in. They gave her a towel to dry herself off and warm up. Salicco said she tried to call someone, but whoever it was didn't answer. Bergeron then turned to them and asked if they knew where Chamberlain Street was.

He did. Salicco said it was only a few blocks over and offered to drive her. "She didn't want to. She said it was only a few streets down the road, so she'll walk," he said. By then, Salicco said she had calmed down and began apologizing profusely for disturbing them so late at night. He said she didn't seem drunk or under the influence of drugs.

About 15 minutes after first ringing their doorbell, he said she left on foot. He never got her name. Salicco said neither he nor his wife thought to call the police at the time, since it just seemed like someone who was lost.

It wasn't until about three months later, in March, that he saw a picture of the missing Bergeron online.

Salicco gave his statement to Quebec police in 2010, but the information was made public for the first time in October, 2022.

Andrée Béchard, Bergeron's mother, said in the years since her daughter has disappeared, new information suggests their daughter may be in Ontario.

"If she has a new life and wants to be left alone, we will respect that," she said.

But Béchard said they're also being realistic. "We may have lost her. But if we lost her… We need to put an end to this nightmare."

This case remains open.

Anyone with information regarding Bergeron's disappearance is urged to contact Quebec City police at 1-418-641-2447, or toll-free at 1-888-641-2447.

Adama Gamache

Adama Gamache

See more Case Files contributed by Adama Gamache.

Update This Story

5 + 2 = ?
Kara Lynn Clark
FEATURE
Kara Lynn Clark

Kara Lynn Clark was last seen leaving a residence in the area she was later found around 1 am. Authorities say her body had obvious signs of trauma but have not released a cause of death.
Featured for 28 days

I've walked lots of Winnipeg fairly late, even downtown core, etc. and not really had a trouble vs. the crime you're much more likely to be a victim of like getting window on car smashed / stuff stolen over night.

Make a donation
We Need Your Support!

Our work goes beyond data collection and is independent from Government and Institutional funding. Your support is critical in making this possible.

Murders In Windsor
POPULAR
Murders In Windsor

The 1980 murder of Kirk Knight; the 1982 murder of 31-year-old Marlene Sweet and her 7-year-old son Jason; the 2003 killings of 30-year-old Debilleanne "Dee Dee" Williamson and her son 5-year-old Brandon "Xavier" Rucker.
Windsor, Ontario

Subscribe

Do not miss a story!

Get notified for new unsolved cases


Unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy

News

B.C. Police Are Rarely Charged For Killing Or Harming Civilians. A Watchdog Wants Prosecutors' Choices Reviewed 

B.C.'s police watchdog wants a review of how prosecutors handle cases where officers kill or seriously harm members of the public, saying low rates of charges and convictions are casting doubt on the province's system of accountability.

Toronto Police Chief Apologizes, Board Chair Asks That 'Cooler Heads Prevail' After Zameer Acquittal 

Toronto's police chief is apologizing for comments he made in the wake of a not guilty verdict in the death of a police officer, while the city’s police service board chair called for cooler heads to prevail as the service wrestles with the fallout of the case.