WINNIPEG -- A former police officer who was one of the last people to see a 15-year-old teenage girl alive says he missed a flag that she had been reported missing from Manitoba Child and Family Services.
Craig Houle is one of two former Winnipeg officers testifying at the trial of Raymond Cormier, who is accused of murdering Tina Fontaine in August 2014.
Houle and Brock Jansen testified they came across Tina when they stopped a truck in the inner city about 5 a.m. on Aug. 8, 2014.
They said it was in an area known for prostitution and a name check with police information showed the driver's licence had been suspended.
Jansen told court that Tina was in the passenger seat and gave him two false names before providing her real one.
He testified that he let Tina walk to a nearby hotel after she told him she was staying there.
Court has already heard that Tina was a sexually exploited youth. Her body, wrapped in a duvet, was pulled from the Red River a little more than a week after the officers saw her.
Both men were suspended for their role and later left the city police force.
