NY NY - Vincent Lamouris, 18, Niagara Falls, 25 Jan 2002

MagnoliaMountain

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http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/l/lamouris_vincent.html

http://www.nampn.org/cases/lamouris_vincent.html

http://charleyross.wordpress.com/2013/09/08/select-it-sunday-vincent-lamouris/

Missing Since: January 25, 2002 from Niagara Falls, Ontario
Classification: Missing
Date Of Birth: May 31, 1983
Age: 18
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 160 lbs.
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue/Grey
Race: White
Gender: Male
Distinguishing Characteristics: Lamouris has a bald spot. Several scars on legs and feet.
Medical Conditions: Right leg and foot – metal plates
Clothing: Lamouris may have been wearing: jacket – black winter coat, zippered front, size L or XL; sweater – black, "Ralph Lauren" brand, logo on chest, wool, long sleeves; footwear – black leather shoes, "Mephisto" brand, size 10.5 U.S., buckle on side, wrist watch – "Rodania" brand, white metal with a black leather strap
Case Number: ON-MM-2002-01-01213

Details of Disappearance:
In January 2002, Vincent left Belgium and traveled to New York City, New York. Due to U.S. immigration policies, Vincent was required to purchase a return flight, but it is unknown if he actually intended to use it. His return flight was booked for February 9, 2002, but Vincent did not board the flight.

Vincent's backpack was found in a trash can at Prospect Point in Niagara Falls, New York. In it, police recovered his passport, classical music CDs, $10.00 in American bills, some Canadian coins, taxi receipts, a pocket knife and a hardcover copy of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. Vincent identified with the book's disillusioned hero, Holden Caulfield.

The metal plates in his leg and foot are the result of an attempted suicide at the age of 15.

Checks revealed that Vincent's passport was used to enter Canada on January 31, 2002. Police are interested in speaking with anyone who may have had contact with Vincent.

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Child Focus
2-475-44-99
 
http://www.missingadults.ca/viewMAcase.php?case=ON-MM-2002-01-01213

01213_Image1_L.jpg
 
The page on Charley Project has some more information, it might be new. It states that he flew to New York without telling anyone and erased his computer hard drive.

Then it also says that the spot where is backpack was found is a spot for suicides but no trace of his body was found (not to mention his passport being used) and nearby there's a bus stop where people can board a bus without identification.

It also states something that contradicts the first post in this thread, it says his passport was used to enter Canada on January 25 and then return to the US on January 31, and adds some more information about the contents of his backpack. From what I understand he went straight to Canada the day he went from Belgium to the US and then returned to the US.

I'd be interested in knowing if people working at the border noticed him being with anyone else. Wouldn't those places have security tapes? I've only ever travelled by land within the Schenghen Space and outside of it I've always flown so I don't know how land borders work. I'd be interested in knowing if the person who went to Canada was at all him or if he was with any friends.

The fact that he wiped out his HD makes me wonder if he met someone on the Internet... he disappeared in 2002 when there was fewer talk of online safety especially for adults and young adults so maybe he met a friend or romantic interest online and went to Canada to meet them. In that case I think of several scenarios.

Maybe he goes off to meet his "friends" who then threaten him into staying or get him in some sort of trouble. He could have also decided to stay there with them out of his own volition, or done that and met with foul play later. Or even discovers that what he expected wasn't at all what it was cut out to be, that his friend wasn't a good person so he goes back to the US and this causes him to feel unwell again.

Do we even know if he had Internet at home, I know I did back in 2002 but I know many people didn't because they could use it at work or school and it wasn't such a big part of everyone's communication as it is now.

Perhaps he goes to that spot to commit suicide, ends up meeting with foul play or deciding to go off and start over but leaves his backpack symbolically on that spot. Maybe a new start was what he wanted all along hence wiping out his computer drive. I wonder if he was feeling unwell or if he was in trouble.

I'd be interested in finding out more details, searching online doesn't come up with much and I can't find any newspaper articles.

I also wonder if perhaps he was sleeping outside during the ice storm, someone found his belongings and took them... though that wouldn't explain why there was any money in his bag.

I'm now reading that blog link and it brings up some interesting points, namely that it's very unlikely he committed suicide in that area then his body would have been found and it's not the sort of spot someone would travel miles to just to do it.

This is all :twocents:
 
Thinking of this poor boy on the 12th anniversary of his disappearance. His case struck a chord in me when it was featured on the Charley Project blog. Given his history of such a serious, high lethality suicide attempt, I doubt he's still alive.
 
I agree with ebonydarkness, I doubt Vincent is still alive. Maybe the last thing he wanted to do was to see Niagara Falls and he chose it as the final place in his life.

The fact that he wiped out his harddrive...he probably didn't want anyone to be able to get through his stuff after vanishing, maybe knowing he wouldn't ever come back.
 
I'd be interested in finding out more details, searching online doesn't come up with much and I can't find any newspaper articles.
There's a language barrier, considering most of the articles I've found are in Dutch. http://translate.google.ca/translat...rch?q=%22vincent+lamouris%22&biw=1366&bih=601
This article reveals Vincent's mother's name and was published in 2010, after the Charley page was last updated in 2008. Maybe some more details can be added to the Charley profile? It's only a partial article though and you have to subscribe to see the rest.
- Regarding his backpack: "No clothes, toiletries or other travel necessities were in it. Well forty CDs, a knife, glue, a thermometer, a wallet and a book: The catcher in the rye of the recently deceased author JD Salinger."
- His mother said: "On January 31, I got a phone call. From far away, so it seemed. But nobody said anything. I suspect it was Vincent, when he stood at the edge of the falls."
- He has 2 adopted older sisters, whose names (along with their father's) I found on a genealogy site after searching his mother's name. His father is apparently a "deputy director" at a high school and a former Dutch and English teacher. There's a video of the father debating multilingual education in 2013.

Other articles: http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-22568986.html
http://translate.google.ca/translat...ev=/search?q=frieda+colpaert&biw=1366&bih=601
- His mother visited Niagara Falls in 2003 to retrace his footsteps.

My thoughts: Vincent must have been really determined not to be found, with all that painstaking secrecy and hard work to travel across the ocean to the other side of the world. Maybe he'd been planning it for months or more and saved up for this trip. I cannot begin to imagine what could have been going through his head to make him depressed enough to attempt suicide in the past. That was not a "cry for help;" jumping from such a height carries a serious chance of death. I cannot fathom the agony from all those broken bones and the possibly being disabled for the rest of his life. At the time of his disappearance, no one had survived dropping from the Falls unaided, making it seem like a surefire way to ensure certain death. List of objects that have gone over Niagara Falls - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I wonder what he was doing in Canada and how exactly did he cross. Bus? Hitchhiking? Met up with people he met online? I know from experience that back then, sometimes border guards would simply take a picture of your license plate and let you in without identification, so it's possible he crossed into Canada again after disposing of his passport, although the chances of that are minimal. Why was he carrying around a pocket knife? I know they have practical uses but it makes me wonder if he was self-injuring. He had taxi receipts, but I would imagine they were for shorter trips considering the cost. I wonder if anyone came forward, such as a driver or passenger, and where he stayed (hotel? with online friend?), considering winter in the Great Lakes area is brutal. Maybe he crossed back into the US and called his mother (presumably from a pay phone?) because he ran out of money but had over a week left until his return trip. I wonder what he was going to say to his mother. To tell her he was safe? A final goodbye? Either way, it's absolutely heartbreaking.

I am convinced due to the disposed backpack that he died soon after the call. It's very difficult getting by without identification, and he threw away money as well. I know the blog says bodies of people who go over the Falls always turn up, but the Wikipedia article suggests otherwise; see cases in 1981 and 2013. Maybe he was weighed down from the hardware in his leg. Was there a search? It was in the dead of winter, and his backpack was not found until 2 days later, so I doubt there would have been safe rescue conditions, and would have been too late anyway. He probably either jumped from the viewing tower at Prospect Point or walked into the freezing river. I doubt tourists would visit Niagara Falls during an ice storm (article about it here http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/2013/12/27/ice-storm-jan-31-2002--now-that-was-an-ice-storm), so he could have easily went in without anyone noticing.

I cannot begin to comprehend the pain his mother will always go through, and what dark thoughts led him to make such a bleak decision. This case, although not very publicized, touched me immensely. I hope it gets more publicity and awareness.
 
Just reading through the information here and I hope that he decided to start a new life for himself but it really doesn't seem that way. Erasing his computer, taking what seems to be his most prized possessions (CD's and book) and throwing them in the trash seems like a final goodbye. However, I wonder if he did jump into the river where would his body have surfaced at? He would have had to come up somewhere at some point I would think. Bless his family I can't imagine the pain of not knowing where he is or what happened to him.
 
Today i actually noticed that the Belgian police are putting wrong information out there about this dissapearance, via their official website. It states that he was 27 years old when he vanished.

Vincent LAMOURIS

I just mentioned it to them in their 'tip-form', i hope they ajust it. I, myself, find this a very very big mistake, actually untollerable.
For example: if there's a john doe to compare him to, they would write him off due to his age.
 
Today i actually noticed that the Belgian police are putting wrong information out there about this dissapearance, via their official website. It states that he was 27 years old when he vanished.

Vincent LAMOURIS

I just mentioned it to them in their 'tip-form', i hope they ajust it. I, myself, find this a very very big mistake, actually untollerable.
For example: if there's a john doe to compare him to, they would write him off due to his age.
I just checked and they ajusted his age. (No reply to me tho).
 
All of the relevant links i could find (a few have already been posted in thread):

Link

Facebook post

Map
Zoom in, Blue dot, a bit northwest of Grand Island, US/ Canada border.

Article
His mother speaks about her experience of her son's disappearance. She was frustrated she wasn't allowed to know who sat next to him on the plane. She recreated his journey. She questions whether he died by suicide or intentionally disappeared -- citing reasons for both. She wants her ashes scattered over Niagara Falls. She always observes the anniversary of his disappearance as a special day.
[Contains a spoiler for Catcher in the Rye.]

Brief article.

Reddit discussion

Basic case information

Tweet by Child Focus België

Basic info at Missing Doe Europe

A blog based on Charley Project cases -- Includes information regarding identifying characteristics (from previous injury and surgery); seems to be more of the theory of intentional disappearance.

Info
Includes possible clothing, distinguishing physical characteristics from previous injury and rehabilitation. Also includes interactive missing persons maps.

Charley Project
Contains essentially all information thus far found and included in above.
 

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