Concern is rising within the Gers. A person is in police custody till Monday after the disappearance of an 11-year-old schoolgirl in Fleurance, a rural city in shock the place tons of of individuals mobilized throughout a hunt.
Lyhanna was final seen on Friday round 3 p.m., in entrance of the city’s school, within the suspect’s automobile. Since then, posters bearing the picture of the kid have been scattered all through the city positioned roughly 80 km northwest of Toulouse.
Suspect’s household identified to Lyhanna
“I’ve no phrases,” reacted Sunday night Martial Bernard, the daddy of the lacking girl. He defined that his daughter was mates with the suspect’s daughter, and that the 2 households knew one another. The gendarmerie, for its half, launched a name for witnesses. Lyhanna is 1.57m tall. She has brown eyes and lengthy hair. She wore a tank prime with massive black and white stripes, black shorts and yellow socks.
The Auch public prosecutor, Clémence Meyer, introduced throughout a press convention on Sunday the opening of an investigation into “ kidnapping and kidnapping of a minor.” She additionally specified {that a} suspect, a 41-year-old man, was taken into custody on Saturday. Earlier than the investigators, this resident of Gers defended himself, claiming that he had dropped the younger lady off on the native swimming pool. However this “info was thought of inconsistent and imprecise”. Above all, the Justice of the Peace emphasised that {the teenager} had by no means run away and that there was no proof to direct the investigation in the direction of such a lead.
Many gendarmes mobilized
Round 100 gendarmes have been mobilized since Friday, stated Lieutenant Philippe de Laforcade. They had been joined by a canine crew. A helicopter and drones are additionally deployed. “The Gers river and water factors close to Fleurance have been, or are being surveyed by divers,” added the officer.
“We’re exhausted, drained and this complete scenario is surreal,” testified Julie Bodart, the younger lady’s aunt. “The baby would by no means have run away,” she assured. She additionally posted wished notices on Fb with a photograph of her niece carrying the identical garments because the day she disappeared. “We simply hope that Lyhanna is protected and doesn’t lack something the place she is.”
A battle that yields nothing
A hunt happened on Sunday afternoon with round 400 folks from Fleurance and the encircling space. And the identical day, Mayor Grégory Bobbato participated in a disaster assembly with the police. He introduced {that a} “voluntary support coordination middle” had been opened within the cultural and sports activities space of the city, on orders from the gendarmerie, to “facilitate the work of mobilized brokers”.
The councilor additionally specified {that a} safety perimeter had been arrange across the leisure middle the place Lyhanna was allegedly left by the suspect, close to the Gers river.
