Citizen Search Yields Evidence in Investigation Into Missing Farmer Manon Relandeau

Overview

• About 300 volunteers joined gendarmes on Saturday, May 23 to comb roughly 65 hectares of bocage near Saint-Étienne-de-Montluc and the operation inspected 56 hectares and identified four water points.
• The gendarmerie said the battue produced “numerous elements” that have been collected and sent for forensic analysis to be entered into the ongoing judicial file.
• The Nantes public prosecutor opened a judicial investigation for murder and kidnapping after Manon Relandeau, 31, was last seen in late March and reported missing in early April.
• The principal suspect, Relandeau’s partner who flew to Algeria on April 2 with their toddler, was arrested there on April 27 and remains detained while extradition and cross-border legal options are unresolved.
• Two people in France, a taxi driver and a cleaner, have been placed under formal investigation for suspected roles in preparing a crime and altering a crime scene and authorities say uncovered items and remaining zones will guide whether further searches are mounted.