Bristol County District Attorney searching for Fall River mother after husband reportedly never reported her missing

As part of Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III’s ongoing Missing Persons Initiative, their office, working with the Massachusetts Unresolved Unit and the Fall River Police Department, are seeking the public’s help in providing any information related to missing person, Clotilde (Arruda) Tremblay.

The DA’s Office revealed that Clotilde “Claudette” Arruda was born in St. Miguel in the Azores. After coming to the United States, she settled in Fall River where many of her family members also lived. In 1980, she married Robert Tremblay, and they later had a child together. While living in Fall River, Clotilde was employed working as a machine operator.

Clotilde went missing in 1988 at the age of 33. At the time of her disappearance, she was living with her husband and their 8-year-old daughter at 128 Pearce Street in Fall River. Clotilde had been working at F&F Braid Company which was also located on Pearce Street near her home.

According to the DA’s Office, her husband, Robert Tremblay, has claimed that Clotilde left him in 1988 for another man, although there is no evidence that he ever reported her disappearance to law enforcement authorities. Despite his claim, there has been no trace of Clotilde since that time. Family members reject the idea that Clotilde voluntarily ran off with another man. Her family described Clotilde as being extremely close to her daughter and the suggestion that she voluntarily disappeared leaving her daughter behind is not possible. A neighbor also expressed disbelief with the husband’s explanation. The neighbor described Clotilde as a loving mother who was inseparable from her daughter. For this reason and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, both Clotilde’s family members and her neighbor believe that something happened to Clotilde at that time.

To date, efforts by the police to locate Clotilde have been unsuccessful and her disappearance is considered suspicious. Law enforcement authorities are seeking the public’s help in providing any information regarding the disappearance or whereabouts of Clotilde (Arruda) Tremblay.

If you have any information, please contact: Lt. AnnMarie Robertson of the Massachusetts State Police at (508) 961-1918 or Lt. John MacDonald of the Fall River Police Department at (508) 324-2796 ext. 253.

*For Portuguese speaking callers, please call Detective Luis Vertentes of the Fall River Police Department at (508) 324-2796, ext. 260.

Last year, District Attorney Quinn’s Cold Case Unit announced that it is further expanding its scope to include a group of “Missing Persons” who have vanished without a trace during the past 50 years.

The Cold Case Unit is actively reviewing missing person cases in conjunction with its efforts to identify all unidentified bodies, another initiative that was announced earlier this summer. Many individuals have been missing for many years without any details of what happened to them. Although there are many circumstances where individuals go missing where no criminal circumstances are involved, it is important that any individual can be accounted for to rule out concerns by law enforcement authorities and provide answers to family members.