KAPUSAKSING – The search for missing Kapuskasing couple Jody and Nicole Blais has ended in a manner that everyone had hoped it wouldn’t.

Monday afternoon, just shy of 3 p.m. family was notified that the couple’s bodies had been located in the Timmins area.

Efforts to find the two local business owners, entrepreneurs and philanthropists were being focused on the area between Fauquier and Timmins as of this past Monday.

The Blais were reported to have left Sudbury in their helicopter at approximately 6:45 p.m. on the evening of Monday, Mar. 4, which would also be the last time either of them were seen or heard from.

They were to have landed in Fauquier that same evening, but never arrived.

Search and rescue efforts got underway during the day Wednesday, after family friend Gilbert Mondoux called Mr. Blais’ brother Michel, suspecting something was amiss.

Initially, the search was focused on the Gogama area based on the information available at the time.

Earlier this week, based on new data, the search focus was shifted to the area between Timmins and  Fauquier.

The OPP and the Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the circumstances leading to the crash. The OPP has been working collaboratively in the search efforts with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) and Timmins Porcupine Search and Rescue (TSPR).

Anyone with information that could assist the investigation are encouraged to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

Please look to our website www.lapressecommunautaire.ca for further updates on this story as they become available.