A teen from Canada is found murdered in VT On a spring day, May 15, 1988, a fisherman casting his line near the town line of Averill and Cannan, Vermont, just a mile south of the Canadian border, stumbled upon a grim discovery: human remains. For years, the identity of the young woman would remain a mystery, a Jane Doe case in the files of the Vermont State Police. The remains were those of a white female, estimated to be between 16 and 22 years old.
It was clear from the outset that she had met a violent end, and her death was officially ruled a homicide.
Investigators determined that the young woman had been deceased for three to five years prior to the discovery of her body. For nearly a decade, her name was unknown. It wasn't until 1997 that she was identified as Chantel Saurial, a 16-year-old who had been reported missing from Montreal, Quebec, in May of 1987. The identification was a significant breakthrough, but it was just one piece of a tragic and complicated puzzle that remains unsolved to this day.
Chantel's life had been a difficult one. At the time of her disappearance, she was homeless and had been staying at a youth detention center. She vanished during a group outing, slipping away and seemingly disappearing without a trace. Her life on the streets of Montreal was fraught with danger; she was involved in drugs and prostitution. It is believed that she may have been working as a drug courier for a local motorcycle gang, a dangerous role that could have put her in harm's way. A friend from that time recalled that Chantel was often scared of her life on the streets.
The investigation into her death revealed that she had died from repeated blows to the head with a blunt object. Despite the efforts of law enforcement, no suspects have ever been publicly named in connection with her murder, and no arrests have been made. Chantel Saurial's case grew cold over the years, a haunting reminder of a young life cut short. Her story is one of a vulnerable teenager who fell through the cracks of society, only to be found years later, her life stolen from her in a violent act that continues to cry out for justice.
