His family was plunged into unbearable anguish for a little over two weeks. Until the deliverance this Tuesday morning with the announcement of the incredible outcome. Missing since November 25 in Pabu near Guingamp (Côtes-d'Armor), Morgane Rivoal was found safe and sound by soldiers from the Rennes research section.
Located in Coutances (Manche), the 13-year-old schoolgirl was in a hostel for young workers in the city when the gendarmes found her trace. A 21-year-old man who hosted him was immediately taken into police custody for “kidnapping and sequestration of a minor under 15 years of age”. While the Saint-Brieuc public prosecutor is due to hold a press briefing on Wednesday at the end of the day, 20 Minutes takes stock of this disappearance case with a happy ending but where many questions remain.
How long had Morgana been missing?
The teenager had not given any sign of life since November 25. That day, the 13-year-old girl left her home on foot around 7:15 a.m. to take her bus and go to the Albert-Camus de Grâces college near Guingamp. But she never got on the bus and never arrived at the school. During the weekend, she had also posted a story on her social networks, since deleted, to indicate “that she would not come to class on Monday”.
After the opening of an investigation into a worrying disappearance, the gendarmes also discovered a crumpled letter in the basket of the teenager's room on which was written: “Dad, mom, sorry, I'm leaving”. Since then, intense research had been carried out to find his trace with the organization of hunts and the use of a drone, a helicopter and tracking dogs. More than a hundred hearings were also carried out and 700 homes searched.
Where was the teenager found?
It was in Coutances (Manche), more than 200 kilometers from her home, that Morgane Rivoal was found safe and sound this Tuesday morning by the gendarmes of the Rennes research section. “She was in a home for young workers in this city,” said Nicolas Heitz, public prosecutor of Saint-Brieuc, in a press release. She was staying with a 21-year-old young man from Rennes, who was immediately taken into police custody for “kidnapping and sequestration of a minor under the age of 15”.
What state of health is the schoolgirl in?
In a Facebook message announcing “the cessation of the search”, the Côtes-d’Armor gendarmerie indicated that the schoolgirl was “in good health”. “Morgane is doing well physically,” a source close to the matter told AFP, without being able to give any indication of her psychological state. “She will be quickly examined by a doctor and be heard by investigators,” said Nicolas Heitz, who will hold a press conference on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Saint-Brieuc courthouse.
Who is the suspect in this case?
It concerns a 21-year-old young man who hosted the teenager in the young workers' home where he lived in Coutances. “He was immediately placed in police custody on charges of arrest, kidnapping, sequestration of a minor under the age of fifteen,” underlines the Saint-Brieuc prosecutor’s office. According to The Telegramthe suspect was allegedly identified thanks to the testimony of a woman residing in Charente-Maritime who contacted investigators. From this information, they would have discovered that the young man was registered in the file of perpetrators of sexual offenses, specifies the daily.
A runaway or a kidnapping to explain this disappearance?
Everything remains to be clarified in this case but investigators are currently favoring the possibility of kidnapping by a third party and not that of the teenager running away. When heard, Morgane's parents indicated that their daughter had never run away before and described their daughter as “happy, joyful, smiling” and “doing well at school”. Several classmates had, however, testified to her discomfort, mentioning “disturbing comments” and “scarifications that she would have inflicted on herself”.
They also pointed out a certain isolation and excessive use of social networks through which the teenager had entered into “relationships with older individuals”. During investigations, a 21-year-old man, residing in Drôme, was notably identified as having created a Snapchat account in the name of Morgane. Several images of child pornography not concerning the teenager were discovered on the phone of the individual who was taken into police custody.
