5th anniversary of David Fortin disappearance prompts new program for bullied teens

CTV Montreal: Teen missing for 5 years Missing teenager David Fortin’s disappearance five years ago has prompted a safety program for teens. Maya Johnson reports.

Five years ago David Fortin was last seen leaving his home in Alma, Quebec and heading to school.

The 14-year-old never made it to the bus stop and nobody knows where he is.

In the past five years people have reported seeing David everywhere from in the audience at a hockey game to Winnipeg, Vancouver suburbs, and even in Montreal bars.

Not one of those tips has ever panned out, and several have been definitively ruled out as lookalikes, but not the boy in question.

Sun Youth is offering a $10,000 reward for any information related to David's disappearance and on the fifth anniversary announced the reward will be extended for another six months.

When David first disappeared the Surete du Quebec said it believed he had run away because of intense bullying at school.

Caroline Lachance said her son was first bullied in kindergarten and that it persisted for the next decade.

"It's not easy for us to know that David was not able to talk to us, not able to get help," said his mother Caroline Lachance.

S.T.A.Y.

That's one reason his parents are taking part in a new initiative launched by the Missing Children's Network

Pina Arcamone said that 5,000 children go missing in Quebec each year, and that 85 percent of those are runaway teenagers.

The new program is called STAY, short for Safety, Trust, Awareness and You.

It aims to teach high school students how to cope with difficult situations by showing children what resources they can tap if they are threatened, bullied, or unable to cope.

"Running away is not the solution," said Arcamone. "We have to propose other initiatives identifying key people... we can reach out to when encountering difficulties."

Through the one-hour workshop, the organization hopes children will learn how to deal with personal safety, sexual harassment, and encourage them to talk about incidents.