After a week of fruitless searches, significant resources are still being deployed to find the trace of Morgane, a 13-year-old schoolgirl who has been missing for a week in the small Breton town of Pabu (Côtes-d'Armor).
During a press conference on Monday, December 2, the public prosecutor of Saint-Brieuc, Nicolas Heitz, announced the opening of a judicial investigation and the appointment of an investigating judge to continue the investigations. “At this stage, all avenues are considered, none are preferred”underlined the magistrate. Here's what you need to remember from this point about the investigation.
A note found in a basket: “Dad, mom, sorry, I’m leaving”
The college in which Morgane attended informed her parents on Monday, November 25 at 9:30 a.m. that their daughter had not shown up for class, recalled the prosecutor. The teenager had “left the house as usual at 7:15 a.m. precisely”since his mother says she has “looked at the time”he added. But Morgane didn't go to the bus stop: “The bus driver even waited a few seconds to see her arrive, in vain.”
The parents, “heard repeatedly”mentioned a “family dispute” occurred on Saturday regarding a “excessive use of social networks” by Morgana. Her father intervened and said he broke the girl's phone, then confiscated her SIM card before “insert it into your own phone”reported Nicolas Heitz. The next day, this taxi driver was “on-call” and therefore worked in the afternoon and evening.
In the house, a “crumpled paper was found” in a wastebasket, on which was written: “Dad, mom, sorry, I’m leaving”. Her friends indicated that a “story” had been posted on one of his social networks “to say that she wouldn’t come to class on Monday”confirmed the prosecutor.
At the time of her disappearance, Morgane was dressed in a “black jacket” and of “Le Coq sportif white sneakers with blue edging”. She wore “a pink backpack” and had not “no credit card” on her.
A young girl “smiling” for her family, in “discomfort” according to her friends
Despite recurring conflicts around cell phone use, Morgane's parents describe “a harmonious relationship” with their daughter and “classic family life”. The teenager, who has an 8-year-old brother and a 5-year-old sister, “works well at college” and has a “passion” for tennis.
She has not in the past “never ran away”is “expressed suicidal intentions”according to the words of Nicolas Heitz. It's a “girl resourceful”but who does not have the habit of “come home late or [de] go to bed”. His brother and sister do not testify to “usual arguments at home” and her grandparents describe a child “happy and smiling”which nevertheless passed “a lot of time on your phone and social media”.
The image described by his friends and those around him at college is darker. “Some noted a certain sadness” at this “discreet, reserved, even shy young girl”according to the prosecutor, who reported “disturbing remarks” around a “real discomfort” and of “scarifications” on his body. Morgane assiduously used several accounts on social networks and her tennis coach even spoke of one “phone addiction”and a “isolation”. “She confided to him that she had been the victim of harassment”reported Nicolas Heitz.
Two men met on social networks questioned, including one in police custody for possession of child pornography images
In total, 110 auditions were carried out in Morgane's family, friends and sports environment. Individuals met by the young girl via social networks were also interviewed and their homes searched.
Child pornography images “not concerning Morgane” were found in particular in a 21-year-old man, who came into contact with the schoolgirl on the Snapchat application and living in Drôme. He was taken into custody. Investigators were also interested in a 29-year-old man residing in Eure, but this lead did not yield any clues.“relevant elements on location” of the teenager. Social media searches showed no connections from Morgane since her disappearance.
The girl's two cell phones, the broken one and the previous one, continue to be the subject of a “deep exploitation” by the gendarmes, who also work on the “21 video surveillance devices seized”notably those at the Saint-Brieuc, Rennes and Brest stations. “Unfortunately, Guingamp station does not have video protection”regretted the prosecutor.
Tracking dogs stop in the Castel-Pic district of Guingamp
During this press conference, Colonel Stéphane Privat, who commands the Côtes-d'Armor gendarmerie group, took stock of the means deployed since the start of the investigation. Among them, two dog teams, including a Saint-Hubert dog. “All the tracking led us to the Castel-Pic district in Guingamp”located a few kilometers from the young girl's home, pointed out the gendarme.
A door-to-door operation was carried out in this neighborhood and all vacant housing was visited. “Currently, a drone is still carrying out searches in places that are difficult to access”specified Stéphane Privat.
The surrounding watercourses were sounded, to no avail, and investigations were carried out in “a very large sector” north of the area where Morgane lives, with the help of nearly 800 volunteers who explored the woods and fields on foot and by bike.
Neighborhood survey, control operations on the route taken by Morgane to get to the bus stop, digital investigations, etc. “All human and technical resources of the gendarmerie continue to be mobilized to find Morgane”insisted Stéphane Privat, noting that an e-mail address has been set up to collect written testimonies in addition to the 110 reports already received by telephone: morgue[arobase]gendarmerie.interieur.gouv.fr
