Found Deceased MA - Aidan Blanchard, 11, Chicopee, 5 Feb 2021

[Dot#5t]

Do any of us think he isn’t in the river? I want to hope that with all of my heart but LE certainly seems to have reason to believe he is.

I wonder about this too. How much “people traffic” occurs normally behind Channel 22?

 

[Dot#5t]

Yes I believe it is a factor. If nothing else, the teams in the helicopters would have difficulty seeing a body under the ice. They have heat sensing instruments, etc but I think they're of limited value. I think the ice will also change the speed and direction of the current. Lastly, it makes for difficult search conditions since most boats can't push through the ice. It strikes me as a herculian task to fine a body under those conditions in such a wide river.

The ice patterns on this portion of the CT River appeared to me to change drastically just a few miles downriver. Earlier this week there was heavy ice in the area of the MA Pike Bridge/ Medina Street Boat Ramp. Then heading South past Springfield Memorial Bridge, the River was flowing freely with ice only by the banks. I would love for a hydrologist to discover Aiden’s thread and comment here! I am bewildered by river patterns. According to the USGS Monitoring Station, the area I scoped out yesterday (Windsor Locks Canal Trailhead, on southern side of the 190 Bridge), the water discharge flow rate was at its fastest point from 2/10-2/16/21. Here’s a screenshot of the data:

-JMO

 

[Limecat]

Vigil held to support family of missing Chicopee boy


Vigil held rot support Aidan’s family. Video in link

 

[cvaldez1975]

I wonder about this too. How much “people traffic” occurs normally behind Channel 22?

I feel like he was caught on cam walking through the area

 

[imstilla.grandma]

All evidence known thus far suggests Aiden was alone and near the river when he went missing. Aiden was last known to be in the area of the Medina Street boat ramp. Based on the information currently known to detectives, no foul play is suspected at this time. All leads continue to be investigated by Chicopee Police detectives and the State Police Detective Unit for Hampden County.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) has created a missing person poster for Aiden. Anyone who has information that may help locate Aiden, or who believes they may have seen him, should immediately call 911, Chicopee Police at 413-594-1639, or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST.

Environmental Police Join Local and State Police in Continuing Search for 11-Year-Old Boy (Photos)utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[keyleigh]

Hoping today is the day Aidan's mum gets her boy home.

 

[Squirrel85]

If Aidan is in the water, I hope they're able to find him before the weather warms up. Since the water is cold and iced over, it is moving at a slower pace.

 

[Nyhcmom]

I am originally from Chicopee and all of my family is still out there in Western Mass. I know where the boat launch is but also where Channel 22 is. As a mom with a child the same age as Aiden,I’m honestly terrified they haven’t found him yet. I’m so afraid that everything being focused on him slipping into the river could be wrong and so much time has been spent not looking at other possibilities. The area behind channel 22 would not be a “good or safe” area for him to be. I hope that I am 100% wrong but how do they know he wasn’t taken by someone?? I saw his mom wearing a Fortnite mask at the vigil and broke down in tears as my son is also an avid Fortnite enthusiast. I’m disappointed you have to search to find updates and this hasn’t hit the news harder. This is an 11 year old little boy who has disappeared from Chicopee Massachusetts 2 weeks ago! Where is he and why isn’t it being talked about more? I know people still living there who didn’t know anything about it until I mentioned it.

 

[Spider92]

I am originally from Chicopee and all of my family is still out there in Western Mass. I know where the boat launch is but also where Channel 22 is. As a mom with a child the same age as Aiden,I’m honestly terrified they haven’t found him yet. I’m so afraid that everything being focused on him slipping into the river could be wrong and so much time has been spent not looking at other possibilities. The area behind channel 22 would not be a “good or safe” area for him to be. I hope that I am 100% wrong but how do they know he wasn’t taken by someone?? I saw his mom wearing a Fortnite mask at the vigil and broke down in tears as my son is also an avid Fortnite enthusiast. I’m disappointed you have to search to find updates and this hasn’t hit the news harder. This is an 11 year old little boy who has disappeared from Chicopee Massachusetts 2 weeks ago! Where is he and why isn’t it being talked about more? I know people still living there who didn’t know anything about it until I mentioned it.

Thanks for joining the conversation. I'm in eastern MA near Boston and it hit the news cycle here for a couple of days, not much more. I would think it would be well publicized in Chicopee especially since tragedy has now hit this family twice.
I know that a couple of others boys went through the ice in that area a year or two ago so maybe people automatically assume that is the case with Aidan. He's a cute kid and I'm hoping there is a positive outcome but it's hard to imagine that unless he's an extraordinaryly resourceful young man.

 

[Knox]

I am originally from Chicopee and all of my family is still out there in Western Mass. I know where the boat launch is but also where Channel 22 is. As a mom with a child the same age as Aiden,I’m honestly terrified they haven’t found him yet. I’m so afraid that everything being focused on him slipping into the river could be wrong and so much time has been spent not looking at other possibilities. The area behind channel 22 would not be a “good or safe” area for him to be. I hope that I am 100% wrong but how do they know he wasn’t taken by someone?? I saw his mom wearing a Fortnite mask at the vigil and broke down in tears as my son is also an avid Fortnite enthusiast. I’m disappointed you have to search to find updates and this hasn’t hit the news harder. This is an 11 year old little boy who has disappeared from Chicopee Massachusetts 2 weeks ago! Where is he and why isn’t it being talked about more? I know people still living there who didn’t know anything about it until I mentioned it.

Thank you for the local perspective!! I've wondered about that possibility also, but LE seems so focused on the water it feels like they are certain that's what happened.

I know nothing about video games. Is Fortnite played online? Meaning- could a kid meet another player that way?

 

[Nyhcmom]

Thank you for the local perspective!! I've wondered about that possibility also, but LE seems so focused on the water it feels like they are certain that's what happened.

I know nothing about video games. Is Fortnite played online? Meaning- could a kid meet another player that way?

Yes it is online and that was another thing that concerned me. I know Aiden’s dad tragically died last year in a car accident and I don’t know,I just worry he could have met up with someone. It’s probably the paranoid mom in me but I know with kids doing remote school they are missing socialization. I feel like there’s no good outcome though I am trying to hold onto some hope.

 

[Knox]

Yes it is online and that was another thing that concerned me. I know Aiden’s dad tragically died last year in a car accident and I don’t know,I just worry he could have met up with someone. It’s probably the paranoid mom in me but I know with kids doing remote school they are missing socialization. I feel like there’s no good outcome though I am trying to hold onto some hope.

If you and I have thought about the possibility, I'm sure LE has checked on the gaming scenario and ruled it out? Faith & Hope go together, we're all here sitting on the same bench and there's room for one more. Glad you joined us.

 

[Spider92]

Faith & Hope go together, we're all here sitting on the same bench and there's room for one more. Glad you joined us.

Wow - so well said!

 

[ReadySet]

I'm wondering if he was seen on a business or residence camera, showing that he could not have been anyplace else other than by the river, and that is why they are so focused on looking for him there.

 

[weepingangel]

Police continue to search for evidence in disappearance of 11-year-old Chicopee boy who has been missing for 2 weeks
Nothing new that I noticed in most recent link
Chicopee police, state police, and Massachusetts Environmental Police have searched along and in the rivers on numerous days. All evidence gathered to date suggests Aiden was alone and near the river when he went missing.

 

[Nyhcmom]

If you and I have thought about the possibility, I'm sure LE has checked on the gaming scenario and ruled it out? Faith & Hope go together, we're all here sitting on the same bench and there's room for one more. Glad you joined us.

Thank you so much for your warm welcome. I’ve read Websleuths for years but never felt compelled enough to join until I found Aiden was being talked about on here. I do not know his family but Chicopee is my hometown and having a son his age,it just hit me differently. Thanks for being easy on a newcomer

 

[bettyboop]

So sad to see Aiden has not been found as yet. I am in eastern MA, but have family near Chicopee. I , as many others, was shocked at the size of the river. What a monumental task for those involved in the search. This case has affected me a bit more than most because a member
of my extended family is about the same age is also named Aiden. I don't have children of my own and didn't realize the cases involving children would affect me so greatly.
JMO MOO

 

[Limecat]

I’m almost afraid to pop back onto this thread to check in.

I want Aidan to be found so desperately, but I’m afraid of what finding him might mean. If nothing else for his poor mother and family to know, I guess.

When I pray at 11:45 am every morning for Aidan, of course my prayer is for a miracle beyond miracles. But also for comfort and peace for Aidan’s loved ones no matter the outcome.

Come home sweet Aidan. More people love and miss you than you will ever know.

 

[Bodhi]

I’m almost afraid to pop back onto this thread to check in.

I want Aidan to be found so desperately, but I’m afraid of what finding him might mean. If nothing else for his poor mother and family to know, I guess.

When I pray at 11:45 am every morning for Aidan, of course my prayer is for a miracle beyond miracles. But also for comfort and peace for Aidan’s loved ones no matter the outcome.

Come home sweet Aidan. More people love and miss you than you will ever know.

My family experienced a loss under similar circumstances. My 18-year-old cousin fell through ice on New Year's Eve. His friends didn't report it to the police til the next day. Divers couldn't find his body and after a number of days, it was clear he wouldn't be found until spring. His body was found in March. His parents and siblings 'knew' he was dead, and yet rumors swirled that he'd taken off and was living in another state. The 3 months til his body was recovered were agony for them. I don't wish that on Adrian's mom or siblings.

Authorities seem pretty confident Adrian is in a river, which complicates recovery. I've read the current is fast there, but it is also varies across the river based on the geomorphology. Ice prevent would prevent a body from surfacing. Rivers have eddys, submerged objects, bridge abutments which make keep a body relatively close to where the person entered the river. Or a body could be a long way downstream quickly. I trust that the local authorities have expertise based, sadly, on previous recoveries. Based on my family's experience, I hope Adrian's body is recovered soon to end the horrible limbo for his mother.