Police search for missing Townships boy
Author: CBC News
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Police scuba divers joined search efforts for a missing 11-year-old boy in Quebec's Eastern Townships nearly a day after the child disappeared in Roxton Falls.

Marc-Antoine Latulippe was playing with friends near the Rivière Noire Monday afternoon when they lost sight of him around 3 p.m. while they were on a bridge.

They later spotted Latulippe's bicycle caught in a section of shoreline ice but saw no sign of him, Quebec provincial police said.

Investigators canvassed homes in the area but would not say whether the boy fell in the river, was abducted or ran away.

The intensive foot search involving officers and dogs was expanded to include helicopters and police divers on Tuesday morning.

Latulippe's parents are hopeful they can still find their son alive, said family friend Jocelyn Bourbeau.

"We're keeping our hope that we'll find him because he's a young guy who didn't let himself get pushed around. He is a fighter," he told Radio-Canada in French.

The surging river is making search efforts difficult because of the dangerous current and investigators are asking volunteers to stay far away from water's edge.

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