Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Royal Canadian Mounted Police/YouTube/Getty
Canadian police put out a call this month for information about an internet-famous woman who has been missing since June. Élora Patoine, 30, was last seen on June 19, two days after her partner dropped her off at a gas station.
But while investigators seek information on the “high-priority file,” scores of YouTubers say they’re already familiar with Patoine. She’s the partner of 39-year-old Jean-Francois Gariepy, a French Canadian white nationalist internet personality who has called for a “white ethnostate” and hosted white supremacist figures like Richard Spencer on livestreams. To Gariepy’s fans, Patoine is known as “Mama JF,” a recurring figure in Gariepy’s videos. Her disappearance has led to friction on the right, with some personalities suggesting foul play, while Gariepy says video evidence puts him in the clear of any crime.
Gariepy has suggested Patoine’s disappearance is evidence that men should have more legal control over their wives. (He and Patoine are not legally married, but he said in a recent video that he considers her to be his wife.)