Have you seen this child?
Here at Sun Youth
Nicolas Carpentier
When police forces come to a standstill in an investigation, rewards are offered to obtain information that can help the police solve the case. In 1991, Sun Youth Organization started its reward program, and since then, we have offered about 50 rewards and have helped to solve 15 cases that otherwise would have been left unsolved.
Every reward, past or present, has been made possible by the financial contribution of anonymous donors. These donors are the ones responsible for the initiative of offering the rewards. They are individuals who want to make a difference and who use their monetary resources to do so. Because the reward money always comes from anonymous donors, the organization never uses general donations from the public or from companies (i.e. money donated to buy food) to offer rewards. Furthermore, Sun Youth never appeals to the public to gather money for these rewards.
Before a reward can be offered, Sun Youth has to get the approval of the police corps in charge of the investigation. It is also the mandate of the police to determine who will get the reward, after cross-checking the information that led to solving the case. It is therefore possible for a reward to be split among more that one individual, if multiple pieces of information enabled the inspectors to solve a case. Rewards are paid after the arrest and conviction of a suspect (in a criminal case) or when a missing person is found.
In August 2007, Sun Youth offered its most important reward since the inception of the program in 1991. In a recent press conference, the organization, in collaboration with the S ûreté du Québec, released a poster offering a reward of up to $80,000 for any information that would help find 9 year old Cédrika Provencher, gone missing in Trois-Rivières on July 31st (at press time, the young girl was unfortunately still missing). The second highest Sun Youth reward was offered a few years earlier: a $75,000 reward for finding the person(s) responsible for the attempted murder of journalist Michel Auger.
The rewards always have an expiry date, usually 90 days after they’re offered. After it has expired, a reward can be reactivated at the police’s request, if they believe that new information could be obtained. Otherwise, the money is either returned to the donor(s) or used to finance Sun Youth programs such as the Victims of Criminal Acts Fund, which helps crime victims and their families.
Interestingly enough, on three occasions, individuals who provided the police with crucial information decided to refuse the reward money and instead requested that it be used to help the victims themselves or their families.
If you have any information that may help the Sûreté du Québec find Cedrika, please contact 1-800-659-4264. Every call remains confidential.
