(*The blog is no longer being updated regularly due to the civil war in Syria. Should the situation change or any breakthroughs be achieved, I will post it here*)
Summary
My sister, Jacqueline "Nicole" Vienneau, a Canadian tourist, disappeared in Syria on Saturday, March 31st, 2007 at the age of 32. She was in her fifth month of a six-month solo adventure through West Africa and the Middle East. She was last seen by the desk clerk at 8:30 in the morning as she left the Cairo Hotel in Hama, two hours north of Damascus.
She definitely intended to return to the hotel as her backpack was left in her room along with the memory cards from her camera, full of photos. She also left her journals that include an entry made the night before she disappeared. Canadian police retrieved her Hotmail account email records indicating she attempted to login around 8:30 Friday night but was unable to (Syrian Internet connections are not reliable). Her last completed emails were sent Thursday night.
Nicole's guidebook was also left in her room. In the back of her Lonely Planet "Middle East" guidebook she wrote directions to a number of places in Syria that we believe she copied from the Cairo Hotel's copy of the Lonely Planet "Syria" guidebook. Nicole spoke with some guests about these locations earlier in the week and the hotel clerk indicated that on the morning she disappeared, she asked for directions to the "Beehive Houses", a local sightseeing destination, as well as Qasr Ibn Wardan (a nearby castle).
No one at these locations recalls seeing Nicole (and they are not heavily visited) and the Qasr Ibn Wardan logbook has a record of only one visitor, Amin Ben Yahia, a person of interest to us (b. 1984, Algerian/Swiss nationality, father is Abbas, mother is Monica) in hopes that he remembers something unusual about that day. UPDATE: On January 19th, 2019, Amine contacted me. He does not remember anything unusual.
Nicole preferred taking local transit, but none of the minibus drivers or locals remembers seeing her. As a foreigner, Nicole stood out in all of Syria, but particularly in Hama where the majority of women in Hama dress in robes and cover their hair. The streets from the hotel to the minibus pick-up are main streets with lots of people, even at 8:30 in the morning.
In May 2007, I flew to Syria with Nicole's fiancé Gary to re-trace her steps and meet with police and local officials. Gary spent an additional two months criss-crossing Syria searching for clues. My mother joined Gary in Syria in July 2007 and met with the Grand Mufti as well as the Minister of the Interior. She also made a personal plea on Syrian television and we put ads in the newspapers and local flyers. Gary and my mother returned to Syria in April 2008 to raise awareness and follow up on leads with officials and the police.
My mother returned to Syria with Gary for a third visit in March 2009 and we continue to work with Syrian government and police officials on the investigation.
There is up to 2,250,000 Syrian pounds ($45,000) in reward money for information leading us to Nicole.
We are currently looking for other guests at the Cairo Hotel in case they spoke with Nicole. A list is at the bottom of this page.
For pictures of Nicole and what she was wearing when she disappeared, as well as relevant personal information and summaries of the search so far, please visit:
http://www.findnicolevienneau.com/
From the "official" website, you can also submit anonymous tips, view the picture gallery and download posters and Nicole's notes. Arabic versions of most pages are also available.
You can always email me directly and anonymously at mattv99@hotmail.com
All comments and emails, public and private, are read immediately, but unfortunately I cannot respond to everyone. Feel free to respond in any language that you're comfortable with, though all of my responses will likely be in English.
March 31st, 2012 (Afternoon):
Today marks five years since Nicole disappeared from the Cairo Hotel or in the vicinity in Hama. Despite five years of searching, we really have no new clues as to what has happened to her, though we strongly suspect one of the hotel staff was involved.
Syria today is very different from Syria of five years ago. There are certainly no tourists in Hama anymore, and there probably won't be any going there in the immediate future either.
Hollywood tells us that stories always have an ending, but unfortunately that's just not true. In those first few weeks we were so confident we'd figure out what happened. And then as each lead dried up the worry in the back of our minds increased, "what if we never find her?". That has turned out to be the case and we may end up being one of those families still searching 20 or 30 years later. You can never really give up.
An old friend of Nicole's has been putting huge amounts of effort into finding her. He's been posting on Twitter and updating a blog with details. You can read some updates here, here, and here.
Other people continue to offer suggestions and take action. It is very difficult to keep up hope after so much time has passed. All we need is one person who knows or suspects what happens to come to us, but they'll probably be in Syria and unlikely to have access to us anymore. Hopefully one day.
March 6th, 2012 (Afternoon):
Canada has withdrawn all diplomats and government staff from Syria. All Canadians have been urged to leave Syria. As per the official Government of Canada Travel Report:
"Civil unrest and demonstrations have been occurring in many Syrian cities since March 2011. There has been extensive use of force by the security forces and military in suppressing demonstrations across the country. Many casualties and fatalities have been reported and protests and violent repression are likely to continue. Security operations have involved the complete lock-down of entire towns for periods varying from a few days to a few weeks. This may take place with little warning."
Needless to say, our hopes of getting any information about what happened to Nicole have diminished greatly in the short term.
February 11th, 2012 (Morning):
Syria continues to be in the news as world opinion is slowly being swayed by the stories of what is happening. Once again, no progress on our search as we approach nearly five years since Nicole went missing. To think that at first I thought this could be resolved in five days or at worse, five weeks!
January 7th, 2012 (Afternoon):
Another month of chaos in Syria. In early 2011, the violence in Syria wasn't making the international news very frequently, but that has certainly changed. It is not surprising that we have heard nothing from Syrian officials, Canadian embassy officials, or our own contacts within Syria. This makes it difficult to move forward in the search.

( Click Here For Additional/Older Details...Collapse )
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American media
September 6 2007, 01:03:48 UTC 12 years ago
Re: American media
Anonymous
September 6 2007, 12:21:00 UTC 12 years ago
Re: American media
Anonymous
12 years ago
Re: American media
12 years ago
Re: American media
Anonymous
12 years ago
quick few notes
Anonymous
September 7 2007, 05:56:39 UTC 12 years ago
http://www.fullerton.edu/arts/music/faculty_staff/powers.htm
http://profiles.friendster.com/25744485#moreabout_1_5
if it is possible,can you please post the arabic registration form(guest list) for cairo hotel, it is possible that an arabic native speaker ,translate the surnames or names diffrently.
we could easily be looking for powell instead of powers...
Re: Powell instead of Powers?
Anonymous
September 8 2007, 06:04:07 UTC 12 years ago
mardis fukse-suggestion
Anonymous
September 14 2007, 12:08:58 UTC 12 years ago
((())) Rasu
Re: mardis fukse-suggestion
Anonymous
September 14 2007, 17:30:41 UTC 12 years ago
Re: mardis fukse-suggestion
Anonymous
12 years ago
Re: mardis fukse-suggestion
Anonymous
12 years ago
Re: mardis fukse-suggestion
Anonymous
12 years ago
Re: mardis fukse-suggestion
Anonymous
12 years ago
Re: mardis fukse-suggestion
12 years ago
European living in Syria
Anonymous
September 16 2007, 22:55:23 UTC 12 years ago
In the worst case scenario , which you have said sadly is how things seem to be, i would like to ask one question ( and i sincerely hope that this is not the case ).
If someone wanted to hide a body quickly they might choose water and i wondered if the famous river Orontes ( i think ) had been searched in the city of Hama.
I live in Syria, but don't know if the Police in there search would automatically put Police divers into operation. Sorry to think of such a thing, but its just a suggestion.
Our hearts with you.
Doh Middle Names
Anonymous
September 19 2007, 03:41:05 UTC 12 years ago
So you might want to consider these names you are looking for might be a middle name somehow. It has happened to me in both directions. My middle name used as my first name and as my last name.
Re: Doh Middle Names
Anonymous
September 19 2007, 03:49:36 UTC 12 years ago
Same with numbers. They might see the number Zero in english and think 5 in arabic and write down five in English because that is how they read it in their head. It happens if one is not paying attention.
So you might want to have someone consider the possible combos and make an alternate list of names and numbers.
I have some close friends abroad who have family in salamiyah. I will get in contact with them so they can get the local gossip from back home. They will definitely tell me anything they have heard.
Re: Doh Middle Names
Anonymous
12 years ago
Re: Doh Middle Names
Anonymous
12 years ago
Reward: Make it more for her being returned alive.
Anonymous
September 19 2007, 04:06:22 UTC 12 years ago
Re: Reward: Make it more for her being returned alive.
Anonymous
September 26 2007, 02:19:44 UTC 12 years ago
Re: Reward: Make it more for her being returned alive.
Anonymous
12 years ago
Faxon
Anonymous
September 19 2007, 14:46:53 UTC 12 years ago
I am one of the many people (I am sure) who do check your journal often, and I hope you find your answers soon.
Re: Faxon - could it be Jackson?
Anonymous
September 20 2007, 23:15:07 UTC 12 years ago
I was also thinking that this individual could be: Markus Jackson. The F and J can sometimes be similar in arabic (with the dot being either above or below the line). A hurried writer might make that mistake or not pay attention to his writing.
Citadel Hotel list
Anonymous
September 19 2007, 15:43:26 UTC 12 years ago
There is a "Ghislaine Robert-Nicoud" in Neuchatel, Switzerland, and I'm wondering if Jijian = Ghislaine (since it is pronounced "Jeezlan").
I can't find an email contact for her. Maybe someone else will have some luck.
Re: Citadel Hotel list
Anonymous
September 20 2007, 11:18:26 UTC 12 years ago
I myself will alternate with the pronounciation of jeem as a soft j or a hard g just depending on my mood. As I said however, that is more of an Egyptian thing. Of course this is the Cairo hotel right? Any connection with them to Egypt... are the people working there or owning it egyptian?
Re: Citadel Hotel list
Anonymous
12 years ago
Re: Citadel Hotel list
Anonymous
12 years ago
Suggestion for Robert Nicoud on Citadel Hotel list
Anonymous
September 19 2007, 15:44:10 UTC 12 years ago
There is a "Ghislaine Robert-Nicoud" in Neuchatel, Switzerland, and I'm wondering if Jijian = Ghislaine (since it is pronounced "Jeezlan").
I can't find an email contact for her. Maybe someone else will have some luck.
Citadel Hotel
September 21 2007, 09:17:17 UTC 12 years ago
Vivian
Anonymous
September 21 2007, 13:45:40 UTC 12 years ago
So there is a good chance the person is "Vivian Robert-Nicoud" or "Vivien Robert-Nicoud". I looked in the Swiss phone book and there is no listed number under those names.
check with syrian embassies abroad
Anonymous
September 24 2007, 07:58:50 UTC 12 years ago
Post a Digg button on the top of this page
Anonymous
September 25 2007, 03:10:55 UTC 12 years ago
refugee camps
Anonymous
October 6 2007, 02:47:29 UTC 12 years ago
Hotel
Anonymous
October 6 2007, 02:59:45 UTC 12 years ago
Anyways ...just a few ideas.
C
Suggesting the story to CBC News Sunday
Anonymous
October 7 2007, 17:59:31 UTC 12 years ago
Good suggestion for others to suggest Nicole's story to America's Most Wanted and The Fifth Estate. I did that... then also made a similiar suggestion to CBC News Sunday here: http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/contact.html.
I know you are desparate to get into the US media, but continued expanded Canadian media can't hurt, as a lot of Americans and ex-pats do watch CBC. I'm hopeful that the folks at CBC News Sunday will simply get curious if they get endless story suggestions on Nicole, and will just have to find out more. I dunno, but it's worth a try.
My heart goes out to you at the six month mark, and your posting about how hard it was for you to see pictures of Nicole. ***Hugs*** I somehow remain hopeful that you will learn what happened.
Roberta
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