Quebec woman who went missing in 2018 has been released: Report

MONTREAL — A Canadian woman and her Italian travelling companion who were suspected to have been abducted in West Africa 15 months ago have reportedly been released in the neighbouring Mali.

Edith Blais, 34 of Sherbrooke, Que., and Luca Tacchetto 30, had been travelling by car in southwestern Burkina Faso, heading to Toga to do volunteer work when they vanished around Dec. 15, 2018.

A month later, Burkina Faso’s security minister referred to the pair’s disappearance as a kidnapping, but the Canadian government did not confirm that, saying only that officials hadn’t ruled out any possibilities.

The New York Times reported Saturday that an American official who was briefed on their case said the two were released late Friday in the city of Kidal in northern Mali.

The report offered no further details about their current situation, however, the newspaper said that according to Corinne Dufka, the West Africa director for Human Rights Watch, Blais and Tacchetto were taken in Burkina Faso and later transported to Mali, crossing the border no later than January 2019.

Global Affairs Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.

Al Qaeda and other militant groups have operated in northern Mali for more than a decade and have kidnapped a number of Western hostages, typically holding them until ransoms are paid.

Senior Liberal cabinet ministers met with Blais’ family in Quebec’s Eastern Townships region in January, 2019 and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time he believed Blais was still alive.

Another Canadian, Kirk Woodman, was found dead in northern Burkina Faso in 2019, near the border with Mali and Niger. An executive with a Vancouver-based mining company, Woodman had been kidnapped a day earlier by gunmen as he worked on a gold mining project.