Family vows to help others, after son's safe return

He's sunburnt and emotionally drained, but a White Rock man missing since June 9 is home.

Daniel Bouchard arrived home late Saturday, after disappearing without a word nearly two weeks ago.

"He called Friday from Mexico asking for help," Bouchard's father, who is also named Dan, said. "He was in Acapulco and had been robbed. (He) had no money and wanted to come home."

Daniel Bouchard, 20, hadn't been seen or heard from since around 9 p.m. June 9, when he headed home on foot from a night out with friends. He was reported missing the next morning, after he failed to show up for work.

Bouchard's dad said his son told him he left for Mexico Tuesday (June 10) morning to get away from "a lot of pressures."

Outside the White Rock RCMP detachment Monday morning, the soft-spoken young man told reporters he suffered an emotional collapse.

"I just had a little bit of a breakdown and I had to get away for a while," he said. "I just needed some time away."

Bouchard said he "wasn't sure" he would be coming home when he bought a one-way ticket to Mexico and then a bus ticket to Acapulco. He chose Mexico because he didn't need a passport to get there, he said.

"I just felt I had to leave. I felt the walls closing in," he said.

Bouchard said it took him just a few days to realize he'd made a mistake, but it wasn't until Friday (June 20) that his family knew that he was OK. Robbed of his money, cellphone and watch shortly after his arrival, Bouchard said he stayed a few days with a local family and then walked for days along a beach until he reached an airport and could call his dad collect.

He said, "'I am so sorry,' and then, 'help,'" his dad said.

Bouchard apologized to his family, friends, the RCMP and the community for the concern his actions caused and expressed gratitude for the support shown for efforts to locate him.

He also apologized to the families of other men who have gone missing in the past year, for the added grief his story caused.

"My heart goes out to their families and friends because I see what I put my family through," he said. "Hopefully, their situation is like mine and they will come home to their families."

He pledged to "make good on all the damage," and to ask for help if life starts to feel out of control again.

"I have a very big problem asking for help. Had I just talked to one person..."

The senior Bouchard said his emotions since Friday have ranged "from total relief and joy to anger."

"It's not an experience anyone should have to go through. It's still a nightmare, still the worst two weeks of my life.

"We're just so thankful this was a good ending."

Sandra Bouchard's voice broke as she commented on her son's return.

"He's still got some explaining to do. He is going to step up and he's going to make good on all his promises," she said. "It could've been a lot worse and he needs to know that."

Getting home wasn't easy. With only his driver's licence, Bouchard wasn't allowed to board a plane in Mexico. Without a passport, he wasn't allowed to fly into the United States.

It took help from Canada Border Services Agency to finally get Bouchard home.

Dan Bouchard said response to his son's disappearance was overwhelming. And while he has heard some negativity about the chaos created for seemingly no reason, he is trying to focus on the positives that have come out of the past two weeks – specifically, the attention drawn to the other missing men.

"I had no idea that there was nine guys in the last year. I feel really bad, and I'm so sorry to all those parents that had to go through all this again," the father said. "I guarantee that Daniel and myself will do anything we can to help.

"There's got to be something we can do for these other families. We can't forget there's still many, many men out there."

Added Sandra Bouchard: "Everybody should be able to bring their children home like we did. Everybody should."