Loire-Atlantique: citizen search organised to find Manon Relandeau
The gendarmerie is organising a citizen search on 23 May in Saint-Étienne-de-Montluc to attempt to find the 31-year-old farmer, who has been missing since 3 April.
Citizen search in Saint-Étienne-de-Montluc to find Manon Relandeau
According to France Info, a citizen search supervised by the gendarmerie is scheduled for Saturday, 23 May in Saint-Étienne-de-Montluc, Loire-Atlantique, in the hope of gathering information about Manon Relandeau's disappearance. The 31-year-old farmer has been missing since 3 April. Her partner, Karim B., is now the focus of suspicion, suspected of having killed her.
More than a month and a half has passed without her relatives receiving any news. The mobilisation around this search operation is such that participants must now register on a waiting list to take part.
Weeks of searches with no results
The weeks preceding the search were marked by significant resources deployed in the field. A tractor was used to search the surroundings of the young woman's farm, drones and gendarmerie helicopters flew over the area. More than ten hectares were thus examined without any trace of Manon Relandeau being discovered.
Lieutenant-Colonel Erwan Coiffard clarified the arrangements for the operation on 23 May: "Each group of participants in this search will be accompanied by two gendarmes. There are already more than 10 hectares that have been surveyed by drones but also by gendarmerie helicopters and so we are in the process of cross-referencing the different information and different elements." The search is due to begin early in the afternoon.
A show of solidarity in the commune
In Saint-Étienne-de-Montluc, where Manon Relandeau lived and ran a cattle and horse breeding operation, residents are expressing their support. "We must always keep hope. For her mother, for her family, everyone is keeping hope," declared a passerby. Another resident added: "Let us hope there will be a good outcome, but it has already been going on for several weeks, even months."
A volunteer firefighter preparing to take part in the search summed up the stakes of the operation: "The more of us there are, the greater the chances of making progress in the investigation. Why not find her, even though I think it will be difficult. There are already quite a few resources that have been deployed."
The citizen search on 23 May represents a new stage in investigations that, so far, have yielded no conclusive information about the fate of the young farmer.
Source: France Info