Quebec releases names of French snowmobilers pulled from Lac-Saint-Jean

ST-HENRI-DE-TAILLON, Que. – The Quebec coroner’s office has identified the two French snowmobilers whose bodies were pulled from the waters of Lac-Saint-Jean Sunday.

Julien Benoit, 34, and Yan Thierry, 24, were two of the eight French tourists who were travelling with a guide when their snowmobiles broke through the ice last Tuesday.

Their bodies were found more than three kilometres from where the initial search began.

Quebec provincial search-and-rescue teams are still looking for the final two tourists who remain unaccounted for six days after the tragic accident.

The effort has involved dozens of police officers searching by air, land and water.

The 42-year-old guide, Benoit L’Esperance of Montreal, died in hospital early Wednesday, and the body of 58-year-old French citizen Gilles Claude was found Friday. Three members of the party survived.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan 27, 2020.