Police drop Amber Alert as ten-year-old boy remains missing

Search near river for missing boy Police on horseback patrolled a park near the Riviere des Prairies

Read the latest on the search for Ariel Kouakou here

Police want the public's help in locating a missing ten-year-old boy.

Ariel Jeffrey Kouakou was last seen at noon on Monday when he left home to go to a friend's house.

On Tuesday afternoon police issued an Amber Alert saying the boy may have been abducted and they were very concerned as it had begun to snow. They dropped the Amber Alert around 11 p.m. after getting dozens of tips, but nothing that led them to believe the boy had been kidnapped.

His father, Kouadio Kouakou, was extremely concerned about his son's disappearance.

“We miss him a lot. Me, his mother, his little sister, his brothers, and all his friends. We miss him” said Kouakou. "We're waiting for him at home."

Ariel is 140 cm tall and weighs 40 kg (4'7", 88 lbs). He has black hair, dark eyes, dark skin and speaks French.

He was wearing a black hooded coat, grey pants, and yellow shoes.

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“I can assure you he’s a good boy. My son is a shy boy, a non-violent boy. He likes people,” said Kouakou. “The thing I can tell you about him is he likes receiving his friends at home for games, or he will go to visit his friends at their home.”

Several people at Ariel's school said he is a nice, athletic child who has never had any problems.

Kouakou told that as far as he can remember, "it's the first time he went on his own to his friend's house."

"He had asked permission from his mother," he said. "(Monday) was a pedagogical day. When he got to his friend's house the friend wasn't there, he was at daycare. There was a lack of co-ordination. That's all we know."

Dozens of friends, family, neighbours spent Tuesday going door-to-door, talking to residents and putting up flyers.

Police set up a command post at Gouin Blvd. and Bois-de-Boulogne Ave. as they searched nearby parks on foot and on ATV, and on Wednesday moved their command post to the local police headquarters in Ahuntsic-Cartierville.

SPVM spokesperson Laurent Gingras urged people to inspect the property around their homes, including garages and anywhere a small boy could have taken shelter.

"We're asking residents from the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough to kindly check their backyards, front yards as well. Please tell your neighbours that there's a ten-year-old missing from the area," said Gingras.

Ariel often plays at Marselin-Wilson Park along Acadie Blvd., and is also known to frequent the youth centre in Mesy Park in Cartierville, as well as the Galeries Normandie mall at the corner of de Salaberry St. and Highway 15.

Officers also spoke to a woman who said she thought she saw the boy Monday at 2 p.m. in Parc des Bataliers near the back river.

"At 2 p.m. Monday, a lady might have seen the missing person in a park which is close to his home and his friend's home," Montreal police spokesperson Ian Lafreniere said.

"It makes sense because he left home at 12:30... and the park is right in the middle. We believe this is accurate, but we need to speak to this lady because it was reported to us, but we haven't spoken to her."

Lafreniere said the passerby had no indication at the time the boy was missing, but reported it when she learned about the missing child.

Police said Ariel had a minor spat with his parents in recent days concerning his report card.

"The only reason that I can see is that he had a little conflict regarding video games. His dad told him that he was not allowed to play any video games. So maybe that is why Ariel decided to leave home," said Caroline Chevrefils of the Montreal police force.

Anyone with information about Ariel is urged to call police at 9-1-1 or to call Info Crime at 514-393-1133.