April 22, 2007 (Quebec City, QC) – Myriam Bedard will go to trial on charges of kidnapping her daughter and breach of her custody agreement, decided Quebec Supreme Court judge Pierre Verdon recently according to le Metro. The trial date was set for June 11 and Bedard chose to be tried by jury.

Bedard’s former husband, Jean Paquet, recounted how difficult it was for him to contact his daughter (whose name is withheld following a publication ban) after Bedard took the daughter to the USA in October, 2006. The daughter was eleven-years-old when she left Canada and was taken out of school.

An international warrant was issued for Bedard who was apprehended by US authorities near Washington DC on December 22, which by coincidence was both her 37th birthday and the 12th birthday of her daughter.

Bedard then spent 13 days in US detention centres before being extradited to Quebec City on January 4. At a January 5 hearing in Quebec City, Bedard was released on bail, conditional to her surrendering her passport, remaining in Quebec, and only visiting with her daughter in the company of another adult.

Bedard, a Quebec City resident, won gold medals in biathlon at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics in both the 7.5-km and the 15-km events. Jean Paquet, 42, is also a former biathlete.