I hate having to do real journalism.
First of all, “What missing Americans in Canada?”
It all started with Fark, of all sources:
Two American models have disappeared into thin air while vacationing in Montreal. But they’re both men, so even though one of them is a veteran of Iraq, Fox and CNN issued the following joint statement: “ZZZZZZZ”
I was only curious because fellow blogger Terrance of Republic of T. has been chronicling racial imbalance in reporting on missing female models and I was tempted to forward it along to him.
But then I read the actual news story:
Police are searching for two young American models who disappeared without a trace early Monday from a downtown Montreal nightclub.
I know from personal experience that downtown Montreal (also called the Latin Quarter) is where most of the city’s gay bars are located.
[T]he two had hailed a taxi and were headed to the Red Light, an after-hours club in Laval [a Montreal suburb].
Some intrepid Googling revealed that the name of the club is actually “Red-Lite” and not “Red Light.”
The missing men and Manzi arrived in Montreal early Saturday with their agent, Stephan Sirard, co-owner of the Edge Models agency they’d been working for in Toronto.
A googling of “Stephen Sirard” uncovered this unrelated story:
A porn star’s first, and last, film about lesbian sex could end up boosting the coffers of Canada’s best known children’s hospital, if the agent for dead actress Natel King has his way.Agent Stephan Sirard said he had approached Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children about accepting the proceeds from King’s last movie, “Lesbian Lover,” in memory of the 23-year-old Canadian star, who was stabbed to death last year in the United States.
A “Stephen Sirard” was also the goalie for the “World” hockey team at Gay Games V.
Finally, going back to the nightclub where the two men were last seen, the “Red-Lite” –
Laval popular after-hours. Mixed crowd (hetero & gay) on the party. Mostly gay on Sundays.
Unless Canadian bar guides use a different convention than in the U.S., “Sunday” really means “early Monday morning,” which is when the men vanished.
So, not much reporting at all, and what little reporting there has been makes no mention of a not-unimportant detail.
I’m not going to editorialize about this one. I leave that to you: comment away.
UPDATE: The two men were found dead near the club to which they were headed. It is unclear as of yet whether they fell, jumped or were pushed.
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9 responses so far ↓
Link turbo // Aug 27, 2005 at 8:15 pm
So I've become intrigued by this story from when I saw it on the my local (Pittsburgh) news a couple of days ago. I was watching it and they said a Uniontown man (where I am from) is missing in Montreal. I look up at the TV and low and behold is one of the people that goes to my gym and I have seen out a couple of times in our hometown. I'm actually kind of irritated that there's this speculation about their sexuality over the internet. I guess at the same time it's understandable.
Like I said Mark is from my hometown and he sometimes worked out at the gym I currently belong to. Additionally, I would occasionally see him out at local bars. I do not know Mark personally but a couple of my friends do. I'm going to put to rest the speculation that he is gay. He is NOT gay, at all, straight as an arrow. He also has a girlfriend back here. The other guys he was with, I do not know. I just wanted to put that to rest.
I also think that it's a shame there isn't more coverage of this. I think it's mainly because he was involved (as the Pittsburgh anchor woman said) "in an adult oriented film and photo agency." Stupid.
Link Chris // Aug 28, 2005 at 3:41 am
The second missing man, 20 year old Steve Wright, is from Guerneville, California. I know him personally. He is not gay, just a happy-go-lucky kid who went to Toronto this summer because he thought he was going to make a lot of money as a porn star. Does sexual orientation matter? You bet it does. Does gender matter? You bet. Imagine this: Two attractive young American models, 20 & 23, both female, missing in Montreal! It would be national headlines everywhere in good ole USA.
Greta & Grace would have a field day.
Link KipEsquire // Aug 28, 2005 at 7:49 am
A happy-go-lucky porn star?
Anyway, I've certainly be known to coax a straight friend or two to come to gay bars with me, and it's certainly possible that only one, or neither, of the young men were gay, perhaps they were merely out on the town with their agent, who definitely seems to be gay.
I think Chris' other point is the real takeaway — if these were two young female models with no "gay stuff" contaminating the story, the MSM would be all over it.
Link stacy // Sep 1, 2005 at 10:02 pm
I hope you have followed the story to see the tragic ending. How easy for some people to insinuate without taking into account that everyone has a mother and father,hopefully they never find your little suggestion. I'm not computer savy and happened upon this by accident. But that family is very close to mine. Mark was a very nice person.I bet you didn't have enough guts to volunteer to go to Iraq and see your friend killed right beside you. Obviously you didn't google him hard enough.I would like to see you eat your words now that we know that they never even made it to that "gay" club and were murdered on the way. Oh and if you happen to see any news reports that cute little boy he's holding is his only nephew who my family adores.
Link KipEsquire // Sep 1, 2005 at 10:16 pm
"How easy for some people to insinuate without taking into account that everyone has a mother and father…"
Are you suggesting that parents learning that their son might have been gay would be worse than learning that they are dead?
And it is as of yet unclear whether they fell, jumped or were pushed.
Link Chris // Sep 3, 2005 at 4:24 pm
Thank you Stacy for your post. Please go to my e-mail and contact me. My family has also been greatly impacted. Steve spent a lot of time at my house and was my son's best friend for a year before he decided to accept the offer to go to Toronto and enter the adult film business. I think it would be good for people who knew Mark to swap notes with those who knew Steve. That way, we might find information that can help the police in their investigation. For example, people who know Mark must feel certain that no one could have marched him at the point of a gun out into the woods to a quarry in the middle of the night. There would have been a fight on the street first. After all, he was a Purple Heart Irag vet! But what you all don't maybe know is that the exact same thing is true of Steve. I know that because this summer in Guerneville my son was out late one night with Steve when a man pulled a gun on Steve and pointed it at him. Steve's instant response was to angrily confront the man. Luckily, the man shot the gun upwards into the sky and then left. The point is this: No one could have marched these guys to the quarry. If the autopsies don't reveal bullet wounds, then they were led out into the woods by someone they trusted. Anyone who knew Mark may contact me by e-mail and I will respond. Let's share what we know about Mark and Steve. They truly deserve to have their killers caught. Chris
Link MTL Guy // Sep 6, 2005 at 10:38 pm
let me start by saying this. I am from Montreal and have been following this story because I was at the first club (Vatican) they were at that night. I don't remember seeing the guys in there, but then again who pays attention to guys when in clubs.
I know for a fact there was no fighting in the club that night. Then it says they left there to go to an after hours in Laval (suburb of Montreal).
I read the story and have come to two conclusions:
1* Agent setup murder. Why???
I hear the agent saying that he feared the two guys could have gotten into trouble, because of their status (Iraq, Porn) with the cab driver. This is what kind of makes me believe that he could have had something to do with it. No way a cab driver in MTL, murders someone. No way… I have been in deep deep trouble with a cab driver. Basically, they will dispatch other cab drivers for safety and throw you out to the road and call the cops on you. This agent guy seems fishy.
2* Red Lite is in Laval. Laval is home to many high end gang hang outs. Not little gangs, we are talking Hells Angels and ROck Machine. You don't want to mess with them. They have the Italian mob backing them 100%. Maybe they bumped into the wrong guys or were shooting off their mouths to the worng people. And to be thrown into a quarry??? You don't just walk into a quarry, they are well protected. This was planned, or there bodies would have been burried somewhere, no just left out in the open to be found.
Lets see what happens,
PCL
Link Chris // Sep 7, 2005 at 2:32 am
I have started a yahoo group for Mark and Steve. Here it is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarkandStevememorialgroup If it doesn't come up right away on Google, try clicking the link for web pages just below the "not found" message and it will come up.
Link Jay // Sep 21, 2005 at 4:08 pm
I've done some work with Sirard (not as a model) and when I found out about this story (amazingly, just now, nearly a month after it happened!) I quickly have gotten myself up-to-date.
Although Wright was not gay, it does seem that he has done m/m work.
I'm not sure that it's entirely relevant, but it might have had something to do with their disappearance. I very much hope not.
Greatest condolences to the families and friends of these two young men. Let's hope they can shed light to the real reason why they perished.
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