MONTREAL — The parents of two young American men missing for nine days said Wednesday they believe something “sinister” happened to their sons, who were spending the summer in Toronto working for an adult entertainment modeling agency.

Steve Wright, 20, of Santa Rosa, Calif., and Mark Kraynak, 23, of Pittsburgh were last seen at 3 a.m. outside a nightclub in Montreal on Aug. 22. They were supposed to return to the United States that day, via Toronto, where they had spent the summer working for the French Connection Francaise, an agency that provides strip clubs and adult entertainment firms with male models.

The police said they exhausted all leads and transferred the case to the major crimes division of the Montreal police.

The police told reporters at a joint press conference with the parents that they still consider it a case of missing persons. Constable Robert Mansueto says Montreal police were still not suspecting foul play.

“We haven’t reached that point yet,” he said. “We’re dealing with the loose ends and reviewing the investigation to make sure nothing was missed.”

The parents disagreed.

“There has been something sinister that has happened,” said Mark’s mother, Janice Kraynak. “That is my feeling, my mother’s instinct, and it is not a missing person (case) anymore.”

She and Steve’s parents said their sons were typically in touch with them and would not go off on a whim without letting people know.

Kraynak’s parents said he served with the U.S. military in Iraq and received a Purple Heart. He was due to start his sophomore year of college this week.

The two young men were last heard from when they called another friend from a taxi at 3:15 a.m. saying they were heading to an after-hours club in the nearby city of Laval.

Stephan Sirard, the owner of the California-based FCF who was accompanying the two Americans in Montreal, denies the nature of their work had anything to do with their disappearance. He conceded people of the adult entertainment industry sometimes faced stalkers, but stressed nobody knew they were going to Montreal.

His agency is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to their whereabouts.