Anti-bullying campaign launched on anniversary of David Fortin’s disappearance

MONTREAL – Caroline Lachance and Eric Fortin will tell you their lives are on hold and nothing has been the same since their son David ran away from home.

David Fortin was the victim of bullying at school and five years ago, he left his hometown of Alma in the Saguenay, never to be seen again.

David was only 14 at the time.

“We don’t want to have another David Fortin,” his mother Caroline Lachance told reporters.

“It has to stop.”

On the anniversary of his disappearance, the Missing Children’s Network launched a new anti-bullying program at Vincent Massey Collegiate in Rosemount.

Its aim is to encourage other victims of intimidation to speak out.

“In the last few months, we’re seeing these kids running away at younger and younger ages,” Pina Arcamone, the director of the Missing Children’s Network told Global News.

“They’re running away at 11, 12, 13 years old.  Enough is enough.”

David Fortin, now 19, is believed to be living somewhere in the Montreal area.

A few years ago, police hotlines lit up when an interview with Guy Lafleur aired on the RDS network.

Someone resembling Fortin could be seen peering over Lafleur’s shoulder.

But it wasn’t him.

Fortin has also been reportedly spotted in the Vancouver area.

One of the last reported sightings was last year in east-end Montreal, at the corner of Georges-V and Notre Dame Streets.

“Police checked.  They found nothing,” Caroline Lachance told Global News.

On Monday, the Sun Youth group announced it is extending the reward in the case for another six months.

Up to $10,000 will be provided to the person who provides an important tip to investigators.

“It’s to remind people that the David Fortin story is not finished yet,” says Sun Youth spokesperson Tommy Kulczyk.

Anyone with information on David Fortin’s whereabouts is asked to call 9-1-1 as soon as possible.