Feds not ruling out possibility of abduction for Canadian traveller missing in Africa

| January 7, 2019 in National News

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A Canadian woman travelling in Africa who hasn’t been heard from in nearly a month is still missing and the federal government hasn’t ruled out the possibility of an abduction.

On Sunday, Radio-Canada said that there hadn’t been confirmation of an abduction, but Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is no longer excluding that as a possibility.

Sherbrooke, Que. native Edith Blais and her Italian friend Luca Tacchetto were travelling in Burkina Faso, a country in west Africa.

The pair were last seen in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso, but all communication with their families “abruptly stopped” on Dec. 15, says Blais’ sister, Melanie Bergeron Blais.

They had planned on driving to the capital of Ouagadougou before crossing into the neighbouring country of Togo.

Officials with GAC are reaching out to local authorities in Burkina Faso, but won’t publish any information that could jeopardize ongoing efforts to locate the pair.

In the meantime, Blais’ family has started a Facebook page related to the woman’s disappeared and say they’re grateful for all the help they’ve received so far.

Blais' sister, Bergeron Blais, says she feels like GAC is taking the case seriously and even visited with the family on Sunday to answer questions and listen to their concerns.

With files from the Canadian Press.

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