Northwestern Quebec helicopter crash victims identified as couple and their grandson

D’ELVERT LAKE – The Quebec coroner’s office has identified the three people who died in a helicopter crash late Sunday in the province’s northwest.

Eighty-year-old Gérard Legault and 77-year-old Aurore Lanoix from Amos, Que., as well as 22-year-old Jake Russell Barfield were declared dead after a helicopter was found Monday at D’Elvert Lake in the La Vérendrye wildlife reserve.

Mining supply company McMines said on its website that Legault and Lanoix were married and Barfield was their grandson.

Legault founded the company in the 1980s, and the website post said that he and the other victims will be mourned by many family members, business partners, employees and friends.

Police were called late Sunday about three people who had gone missing after taking off in a helicopter from Mont-Laurier, Que., about 185 kilometres northwest of Montreal.

Police say bad weather may have played a role in the crash, and that the victims had contacted their loved ones to say they were planning to land the helicopter and wait for better conditions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2024.