Quebec woman missing since 2008: reports of 43 possible sightings since February

Marilyn Bergeron was 24 years old when she left her parents' house to go for a walk. She never returned. (Handout)

MONTREAL -- The parents of a Quebec woman who went missing nearly 10 years ago say there have been 43 reported sightings since last February.

Marilyn Bergeron was 24 years old when she disappeared on Feb. 17, 2008, from the family home in the Quebec City area.

She had just returned to live with her parents after being in Montreal for three years and they have said she was struggling emotionally with something.

Her parents held a news conference in Montreal on Friday and said they want Quebec provincial police to take over the investigation from the Quebec City force because their daughter was living in Montreal and has reportedly been seen in Ontario.

The 43 reported sightings have come since her mother and father held a news conference last February on the ninth anniversary of her disappearance.

Jonathan Gauthier, who knew Bergeron, attended Friday's news conference and said she had changed just before her disappearance.

Gauthier recalled a conversation they had at his apartment in December 2007.

"She cried and she told me something had happened," he said. "She couldn't tell me, she wouldn't tell me. I asked her whether she had been raped or something like that and all of her answers were, "No, it's worse, it's worse."'

Gauthier said he then asked her whether she'd witnessed a murder and that she replied, 'No, it's worse. You just can't imagine what happened.'"

A reward for information about Bergeron's whereabouts stands at $30,000.