Research continues for the statue of Gilles Villeneuve

Despite thousands of dollars in rewards offered, the bronze statue of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve, stolen last week in Berthierville, had still not been found this Sunday.

• Also read: Thousands of dollars reward to find the statue of Gilles Villeneuve

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“Saturday noon, an SQ police officer who is working on the case told me that they were working on certain avenues, but I still have not heard anything,” reports Alain Bellehumour, the president and general director of the Gilles-museum. Villeneuve, where the emblematic statue was erected.

Contacted on Sunday afternoon, the Sûreté du Québec was stingy in its comments, contenting itself with saying that there was nothing to report in this file.

“Frankly shameful”

Former Formula 1 world champion and son of Gilles, Jacques Villeneuve, shared his dismay in a video he published on his Instagram page.

“I cannot understand what such people can have in their heads or even in their hearts, if they have one,” he exclaims.

“It’s frankly shameful,” he adds.

He calls the perpetrators “shameless and soulless beings who don’t deserve to be called human” in the video’s description.

Wave of sympathy

The theft of the statue, which was sawed off at the ankles, shocked many Quebecers.

Some have also chosen to go to the museum of their idol this weekend to support the Villeneuve family and the managers of the place.

“The wave of sympathy also means that there are more visitors to the museum,” also reveals Alain Bellehumour.

The bronze statue, 1.6 m high and weighing between 200 and 250 pounds, has not been found since Wednesday night.

Since then, a reward of $12,000 has been offered by the companies Azimut POS and BG Race Fuels to anyone who restores the statue to good condition, and the entrepreneur Richard Arel is offering a sum of $20,000 to the person who provides information allowing the arrest of the thieves.