Hakim Mokadem
06/25/2024 at 9:33 p.m.
Almost two weeks after the disappearance of Marie-Pierre Arfel and Françoise Boutteaux, on the island of Sikinos in Greece, the Draguignan public prosecutor’s office indicated that it had launched investigations. Explanations.
Fifteen days and still no trace of the two tourists. While relatives Marie-Pierre Arfel and Françoise Boutteaux are mobilizing for the French authorities to find them, the Draguignan public prosecutor’s office (Var) has indicated that it has opened an investigation.
On June 14, Françoise Boutteaux, 73, and Marie-Pierre Arfel, 64, then staying on the Greek island of Sikinos, left their respective hotels at dawn to go hiking together on this island in the heart of of the Aegean Sea, without ever resurfacing.
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If the authorities of this island territory have reaffirmed having deployed significant resources to find the two hikers – firefighters, police officers, dogs and drones – the two vacationers have unfortunately still not been found.
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Thus, the Var magistrates assured France Bleu that they had launched investigations to “search for the causes of the disappearance”. This so-called “mirror” investigation means that the elements obtained in Greece are collected by the legal authorities in France – but that no French agent is sent there.
A volunteer dog team
For its part, the family of Marie-Pierre Arfel announced that a dog team called “ulysse” had volunteered to go to the island of Sikinos in order to carry out research itself. A request that has so far remained a dead letter: neither the French embassy nor the Quai d’Orsay have responded to requests from families and our colleagues, reports BFM Var.
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On June 19, two relatives of Marie-Pierre Arfel flew to Greece and joined members of Françoise Boutteaux’s family there.
While Greece is experiencing an unprecedented heatwave, three foreign tourists who had undertaken hikes under a blazing sun were found dead within a week on Greek territory. On June 9, British television star doctor Michael Mosley was found lifeless on the Greek island of Symi, still in the Aegean Sea.
