Alexandre Fortin was 20 when he vanished from Saint-Georges-de-Beauce, Québec, in the winter of 2002. On the evening of February 22 he stayed behind at a house on 127th Street because he felt unwell while friends went out to get something to eat. Later that night the house was destroyed by a fire.

Fire scene technicians and police searched the ruins and found no trace of Alexandre. The Sûreté du Québec described the fire as suspicious. The day before he disappeared Alexandre told his mother he had something important to discuss that could not be said over the phone; his family says he would not have left without saying so. Public appeals and searches, including a poster campaign on a transport trailer, have not produced him.

What details do readers remember from Saint-Georges-de-Beauce in 2002 that might help explain how Alexandre was not recovered from the burned home?