TROIS RIVIERES, Que. — Every day for the last month, an exhausted Martin Provencher has followed a grim routine.

He rises around 7 a.m. and then heads to an old bank building to resume the search for his daughter who vanished a month ago, on July 31.

Quebec provincial and Trois-Rivieres police have assigned dozens of investigators to find little Cedrika. Hundreds of volunteers have pitched in to search. The case has rarely strayed from the headlines.

"A typical day? We're always searching,'' he says in an interview in his usual soft voice.

"There's information coming in. That's the way it always is. There's interviews and research, lots of research.''

But Provencher's presence in the spotlight has also caused some to question his motives.

He reportedly underwent a lie-detector test last week at the request of Quebec police.

Provencher said he passed the test easily and hoped it would put an end to rumours he was involved in the disappearance.

Despite the rumours, Provencher and his family have persisted to keep their hopes alive that  Cedrika will be found and brought home so they can belatedly celebrate her 10th birthday, which was on Aug. 29.

In her absence, the day was marked by a public celebration this week at a park on the city's waterfront.

Provencher released one of 10 doves at the event but it was likely the only deviation in his routine since his daughter went missing.

The hope was that, like the doves, Cedrika would return home.

Police set up roadblocks in the Gaspe area last week after they said they received credible information that the freckle-faced child had been spotted with a man.

Claude Poirier, a noted crime reporter enlisted by the family as an intermediary, passed on information to police about a possible witness to the abduction although investigators wouldn't comment Friday on the report.

The family has set up a parallel search to that of the police, who say they have received 3,000 tips since Cedrika vanished on July 31 after telling people she was helping a man look for his lost dog.

"I'm here at the command post at 8:30 a.m., it depends on the night.'' Provencher says. "I leave here at 10 or 11.

"I sleep a little.''

Provencher and his helpers, which include other members of the family, are camped out on the top floor of the two-storey building.

The main room includes children's drawings on the walls along with messages of support and posters of Cedrika.

A stuffed teddy bear sits amid flowers.

A TV tuned to news channels sits off to the side and one phone with several lines sits ready to receive calls with information.

Many people show up to help, Provencher says.

"There are days when we have more,'' he said. "There was a day when we had seven or eight dog handlers.''

Ground searches have been scaled back since Cedrika vanished. At one point, hundreds of people combed neighbourhoods and wooded areas. Police marine units checked the nearby St-Maurice River.

Besides all their other efforts, the family has set up an Internet site to seek information and people have printed up the poster on it to post worldwide.

When told Cedrika's picture had been seen as far away as Boston, her grandfather Henri Provencher replied: "There are some farther away than that.

"There are some in France, in Vietnam, in Japan, in the United States, in Mexico,'' he said. "We have been contacted through e-mail by people and we have friends who travel and these people get the photo off the Internet and print it and put it up all over the place.

"We have friends everywhere and our friends help us.''