A Gatineau, Que., family is in mourning this holiday season after a couple was found dead while vacationing in the Dominican Republic.
The son of Alain Noël and Christine Sauvé found their bodies inside the couple’s vacation home on Boxing Day, the family told Radio-Canada.
The cause of death is unknown and local authorities are investigating.
Sauvé’s brother Gilles Sauvé Jr. said local authorities told him autopsy results will be sent to the family within 45 days.
He was visibly shaken when he spoke to Radio-Canada in French.
“It was their retirement plan, like snowbirds,” he said of the couple’s frequent trips overseas.
Sauvé said he spoke with his sister the day before she and Noël were found dead. She told him she had gone to the hospital because she felt dizzy.
She had blood tests done and was supposed to undergo more scans on Boxing Day, Sauvé said.
“In the end, it didn’t come to that,” he said.
Sauvé said he’s now in the Dominican Republic to obtain death certificates, meet with authorities and repatriate the bodies to Quebec.
“What’s very difficult is that we’re not in Quebec [and it’s] the holiday season. Everything is closed, including the embassies. We’re trying to get things done, but everything is progressing very slowly,” he said.
“Even in Quebec, we can’t begin the process until we have the death certificate here in the Dominican Republic.”
Global Affairs Canada said Canadian officials are providing consular assistance and communicating with local authorities to obtain more information.
Sauvé described the couple as coming from a close-knit family.
“Alain was a bon vivant, he had many friends,” he said. “He was a big softie in a very imposing man’s body.”
Gatineau Coun. Luc Chénier, a former Gatineau Olympiques junior hockey team player, said he knows the family well. Christine Sauvé was the daughter of the team’s former co-owner.
“They are hockey fans … and this franchise is a big part of it. Even the children and grandchildren have been involved with the Olympiques,” he said.
Chénier said Noël and Sauvé left their mark on the wider community, and were known for their elaborately decorated house on Halloween.
“What’s so sad is that people work their whole lives to achieve something, and then tragedy strikes,” he said.
