Body of kidnapped Que. political aide found in abandoned home, no arrests

Quebec provincial police began combing through an abandoned home in search of further evidence after discovering the body of a political aide to a prominent provincial cabinet minister.

Police, acting on a tip, found Nancy Michaud's body Sunday afternoon in the basement of the abandoned home just a few kilometres from her own residence in Riviere-Ouelle, a small town 140 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

Michaud, 37, had been missing since early Friday morning when police suspect she was violently abducted from her home in the small town of 1,200.

Police spokesman Claude Ross said certain clues found near the abandoned residence led police to take a look inside. That's where they quickly made the grisly discovery.

"It doesn't seem as though the home had been inhabited in some time," Ross said.

An autopsy is scheduled to be performed on the body in the coming days, he added.

Ross says police have not made any arrests in the case and urged the public to remain vigilant.

In particular, police would like to identify a masked individual caught on camera withdrawing money from two bank accounts belonging to Michaud and her husband at a nearby automated teller.

The visuals were released to the public on Saturday.

Michaud, an aide to Natural Resources Minister Claude Bechard, was a mother of two young children, aged six and 18 months.

There were signs of violence at her home and police suspect she was dragged out of the quaint two-storey home and placed in a "small" car.

Her husband returned home about 2:30 a.m. to find the couple's young children fast asleep, but his wife gone.

The ATM surveillance video shows a slim man, about five-foot-five, wearing a ski mask, black gloves and dark clothing making the withdrawls.

Police have said they have no evidence Michaud's disappearance was linked to her job.

Shocked residents gathered near the abandoned home Sunday afternoon, attempting to come to terms with Michaud's death.

Provincial police Sgt. Gregory Gomez del Prado says police are also advising residents to keep an eye out for anyone exhibiting any suspicious behaviour, including an impromptu spending spree.

"If anyone from the surrounding areas who they know doesn't have money and is out of the blue spending more money than he actually has," Gomez del Prado said.

James Morton
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