Where Is Élora Patoine? Examining the Behavior of Jean-François Gariépy

In June 2023, Élora Patoine—known online as “Mama JF”—disappeared after being dropped off by her partner, controversial internet personality Jean-François Gariépy. According to Gariépy, her departure was voluntary, a pursuit of personal adventure. But since then, Élora has completely vanished: no calls, no messages, no public sightings.

On October 6, 2023, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) released an update confirming that Patoine was last seen on June 19 on Albert Street in Moncton, wearing a brown faux leather jacket and carrying a school bag. The RCMP has invoked the Missing Persons Act to aid in the investigation.

On October 4, Gariépy tweeted about the investigation, saying that “in true Mama JF fashion,” she had “disappeared from the map,” and insisted that she left voluntarily. “Mama JF left our home entirely voluntarily to go live a life of adventure, wherever it would bring her,” he wrote. He urged anyone who saw her to contact police but remained confident that she was simply “off the grid.”

Yet, in a now-deleted video posted just days after her disappearance, Gariépy struck a disturbingly different tone, which raises questions about how she left home. He detailed how he spent days “sterilizing” their home after she left.

He appears to provide details here on how her body may have been stored:

“I have to take 3 days total—so much cleaning, uh, so much reinstalling, so much plastering of the walls, construction, renovation. I wanted to set the home in the way I like it. It’s like, sterilize this home now. I can walk finally, I can access everything. The fridge is super clean. I bought a new fridge, a gigantic fridge, and it was too bad because I couldn’t profit from this fridge because there was just too much things in it. It’s like… oh bat, brain, bo—boe—bre—brai (laughs nervously), I can’t even say it. Bat brains, little hairs from a squirrel, coniferous branches. Like Mama JF was operating this fridge like a f*ing witch.**”

His verbal stumble appears to begin to say "body parts" before nervously correcting to "bat brains” fuels speculation that he may have placed the murder weapon, a bat, and her body in his fridge, replacing the fridge with a new one.

Compounding the concern is Gariépy’s behavior since her disappearance. He has openly stated that each time investigators have visited him, he has left town and relocated to a different part of Canada to avoid further questioning. Rather than cooperating with authorities or encouraging transparency, Gariépy has seemingly worked to frustrate the investigation.

The RCMP and its Major Crimes Unit continue to investigate Élora’s disappearance. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is urged to contact the Prince District RCMP at 902-436-9300, or to report anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Élora Patoine is described as 5-foot-10, 140–150 lbs, with curly brown hair. She speaks both French and English and has ties to Prince Edward Island and Quebec.

Despite Gariépy’s claims that Patoine’s disappearance was voluntary, the contrast between his public statements, private videos, and ongoing avoidance of investigators suggests that this case is far from simple. His disturbing monologue, the absence of any communication from Élora, and his evasive actions in the face of police attention point to a disturbing image.