Madison Roy-Boudreau should be celebrating her 15th birthday Wednesday. Instead, her family is grieving her loss.
“We hope she’s having a very happy heavenly birthday,” says Maggie Lavigne.
Lavigne has taken on the role of family spokesperson – as Roy-Boudreau’s family continues to grapple with the disappearance of the teenager last May.
In the eight months since Madison went missing, her birthday is the latest milestone her family has had to mark without her.
“Christmas wasn’t normal, Thanksgiving wasn’t normal, nothing is normal,” Lavigne says.
In August, Bathurst police uploaded a video declaring they believe Roy-Boudreau to have been the victim of a homicide.
They’ve not indicated what evidence has led them to that conclusion, or what they believe happened to her after she was seen getting into a grey Ford Ranger on May 11. Nor have they said who – if anyone – is considered a suspect.
“We’re just hoping whatever the cops do have to deem this a homicide, that they have the proper proof and they can hurry up and bring this to rest.”
Global News reached out to Bathurst Police Wednesday for any updates but did not hear back.
The last information made public by the force was the temporary suspension of searches in September.
Bathurst Mayor Kim Chamberlain says the teen’s disappearance has shaken the community.
“It’s heart-wrenching,” she says. “I know that nobody is forgetting in the community.”
Lavigne says several exhaustive community-organized searches were held through the summer – with more planned for the day the snow melts.
She says a number of memorials were planned for Roy-Boudreau’s birthday were scaled back due to the province’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Lavigne says the community support has kept the family going.
“All the support, donations, all the positivity, thank you, thank you, thank you,” she says.
She urges anyone who thinks they might have information regarding Madison’s disappearance to contact Bathurst Police or the New Brunswick RCMP – not the family.
“We get it on a daily basis,” Lavigne says of people offering tips and suggestions. “They deal through enough as it is.”
Bathurst Police ask anyone with information regarding the disappearance of Madison Roy-Boudreau to call them at (506) 548-0420 (option #2).
Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).