Rob Joly says he’s surprised to see Chief Shawn Devine step down but praises him for the work he has put into his missing son’s case.
Joly, is the father of Luke Joly-Durocher who was last seen shortly before midnight in the North Bay downtown area on March 4, 2011.See related: Family still looking for answers on disappearance of Luke Joly-Durocher
“Chief Devine’s departure from North Bay police was a surprise to us,” Joly told BayToday.ca.
“He kept Luke’s case in the eye of the public and always had his team of detectives working on it, but with the increase in crime and drugs in the Bay it sometimes takes all his resources and unfortunately it set back the investigation. Chief Devine was a good chief and certainly will be missed by all his colleagues.”
Devine made the announcement earlier this month and on Tuesday the Police Board announced that Deputy Chief Scott Tod would be Devine’s successor as new police chief.
During Devine’s media conference Tuesday, he says he wished the Joly case could have been solved before his departure.
See related: New police chief named
“The Joly matter is still there and it is something that I have to say this organization has never forgotten about,” said Devine.
“We have two active detectives continuing to work on that case who you know would like to see a resolution to that one.”
However, Joly is pleased to see Scott Tod taking over for Devine.
“When we heard Deputy Chief Scott Tod will be taking his place in June, it gave our family a sigh of relief,” admitted Joly.
“Mr. Tod is fully aware of Luke’s case, We had the pleasure of meeting him when he was Police Commissioner of the OPP, he held a big part in launching the $50,000 reward on Luke’s disappearance in 2015, as it still stands today. Mr. Tod is sympathetic in the case but is also determined to solve this mystery of what happened to our son back on that night on Main Street in March of 2011.
“So yes, we are looking forward to this year keeping our hopes up that 2019 is the year.”
Anyone with information on the Joly case is asked to call the North Bay Police Service or Crimestoppers.
