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Suspect Indicted and Detention Ordered as Search Continues for Missing 11‑Year‑Old Lyhanna

Forensic tests on the suspect's seized car and items will determine the next investigative steps.

Overview

  • Lyhanna was last seen leaving her collège in Fleurance and boarding a man’s car on Friday, May 29, and her disappearance was reported to police that same evening.
  • A 41‑year‑old man known to the family was arrested, presented to a judge and formally mis en examen for enlèvement and séquestration on Monday, June 1, and is now in pretrial detention.
  • Gendarmerie search operations have expanded to nearly 170–200 personnel using helicopters, drones, dive teams and search dogs to comb lakes, the River Gers, woods and farmland around Fleurance.
  • Investigators have seized the suspect’s vehicle and collected multiple objects during organised battues; those items are now undergoing forensic analysis that police say will shape the inquiry.
  • The family says Lyhanna would not have run away and had cut contact with the suspect after a 'soirée pyjama'; authorities are urging residents to follow gendarmerie instructions because time is critical for the search.