What we know three months after the disappearance of Narjesse, 17, in Villeurbanne

A student in her final year at high school, the teenager was preparing for her baccalaureate exam at the time of her disappearance. A call for witnesses was launched without making any progress in the investigation.

In Villeurbanne, the disappearance on Saturday June 29 of Narjesse Ghezal, a 17-year-old teenager, remains a mystery. Three months later, the young woman’s family still has no news. No leads have been ruled out by investigators.

• She was in the middle of revising her baccalaureate

A student in her final year at high school, the teenager was preparing for her baccalaureate exam at the time of her disappearance. This final exam was scheduled two days later, on Monday July 1st.

The young woman was alone in her room, her mother having gone to see her elderly grandfather. The father looked after the other siblings in the apartment.

The father realized early in the afternoon that Narjesse was no longer in his room or in the family apartment. He called his wife at 1:08 p.m., worried, to tell her that she was no longer there and that he had not seen her leave.

• A sudden exit

Young Narjesse left her home wearing blue pajama bottoms, a t-shirt, a black sweatshirt and black sneakers with white stripes. She left without her phone, her credit card or her identity card.

The parents spent the afternoon of Saturday June 29 looking for her. Still having no news, the teenager’s father and mother went to the Villeurbanne police station to report the disappearance of their eldest daughter.

“If it was a runaway and a real desire not to be found, Narjesse had plenty of time to take clothes, a backpack, her identity papers, her credit card, which she doesn’t have done”, assures Sofia, the mother with BFM Lyon.

• A call for witnesses without any response

For three months, the open investigation has stalled. A call for witnesses was launched in mid-July and failed to obtain any response. Police seized his phone in search of information. Monitoring his social media turned up nothing either.

The police carried out checks in his room and questioned members of his family (parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, etc.) as well as friends or staff from his school.

“At the start of the investigation, we had quite a few leads, we passed them on to the investigators, we ourselves investigated (…). There, the investigation ran out of steam since there was no “There are no more leads”, continues the mother.

• A violent altercation and verbal assault

Her family describes Narjesse as a sweet young woman appreciated by her friends and loved ones. The eldest of six children, Narjesse is described by her mother as “smiling, full of life, always up for everything. She is very dynamic , she is a very empathetic young girl.”

“She’s the teenager that every mother would dream of having at home,” she assures.

However, she has recently experienced several events that have left her devastated. First, in October 2023, the teenager had an altercation with a student at her high school. The latter hit Narjesse as she was returning home.

Injured, the teenager was hospitalized with three days of total incapacity for work. She came out very shocked since she was not able to return to class for a month and a half. The young woman has since been followed by a psychologist and a sophrologist. She finally returned to high school but sometimes had anxiety attacks.

The day before his disappearance, Friday June 28, Narjesse was verbally attacked during his high school prom. A young man she knew insulted her about the outfit she was wearing. The teenager then asked her mother to come pick her up and remained silent. Her parents then described her as terrified.

• A “nightmare” for parents

At the microphone of BFM Lyon, Narjesse’s parents confided their distress after these long weeks without news of their daughter or any answers to explain this sudden disappearance.

“On a daily basis, it’s a nightmare. We have other children, we are torn, completely devastated. For three months, our daily life day and night has been trying to find our daughter,” emphasizes mother Sofia.

Mehdi, Narjesse’s dad, is “worrying every day” not knowing where his daughter is. “I don’t know how she is, if she is in good health (…). I don’t know what to do, I am anxious not to be able to protect my daughter,” laments the father.