TROIS RIVIERES, Que. — Eight years after she vanished near her home in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, the bones of little Cedrika Provencher have finally been found.
Quebec provincial police announced Saturday night that human remains discovered in the woods outside the city were those of Cedrika, the nine-year-old girl who went missing on July 31, 2007.
Her disappearance spawned massive manhunts, a huge police investigation as well as the recruiting of many others to help find the freckle-faced girl whose picture once graced lamp posts and store fronts across the region.
Despite a large reward and several suspects being questioned over the years, no arrests have been made.
Cedrika was last seen being approached by an adult to help search for a missing black and white dog on the evening of July 31. She was never seen again.
On Sunday, a Facebook post attributed to Cedrika's grandfather Henri Provencher thanked the public for helping the family to look for he girl.
"Despite the pain and broken heart, I want to thank from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of Cedrika's family all the population, police, media, and numerous volunteers who helped and participated in the search from near and far," said the post on the Facebook page dedicated to Cedrika.
"You showed great generosity and a great solidarity in the horror we're living."
Police are continuing to investigate in the hopes that the bones will lead to an arrest.
Sunday afternoon about 50 officers were on the site where the body was discovered.
