Overview
- Gendarmes have found no trace of 31-year-old Manon Relandeau after sweeping ponds, marshes, and woods around Saint-Étienne-de-Montluc, and they plan to expand the search area.
- Relandeau disappeared March 27; her companion flew to Algeria April 2 with their 15-month-old daughter and was jailed there in late April under a French arrest warrant.
- Prosecutors opened a criminal inquiry for murder by a partner and child abduction, and judges also probed others, freeing a taxi driver under supervision and indicting the couple’s housecleaner for altering a possible crime scene.
- Relatives reported texts sent after March 28 that did not match her style, and missing toiletries and a relaxation pillow from the home raised fears of staged signs of life.
- Records show the companion had a 2019 conviction for domestic violence, and Relandeau had logged episodes of verbal abuse before a planned meeting with a victim-support group in early April.