Turnaround in the Lina case Suspect commits suicide

In September, 15-year-old Lina disappeared without a trace in Alsace. New DNA traces have now led to the identification of the suspect: He presumably committed suicide. The search for Lina continues.

There have been new developments in the case of 15-year-old Lina in Alsace, who has been missing for ten months. According to reports from BFMTV and Le Parisien, a new search operation will be launched on Tuesday in the Bas-Rhin department to find the missing girl.

Last Friday, the authorities in Strasbourg announced that traces of Lina's DNA had been discovered in a vehicle. The stolen car was in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene at the time of her disappearance.

As BFMTV further reports, the alleged driver of the stolen vehicle has now been identified. Initial findings indicate that the suspect committed suicide. The search for Lina thus continues under new circumstances as investigators try to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

The circumstances under which the teenager got into the car are now being investigated. The public prosecutor's office expressed confidence that the breakthrough in the manhunt would make it possible to locate Lina.

The 15-year-old disappeared on September 23 last year on the three-kilometre walk to the Saint-Blaise-la-Roche train station. The teenager wanted to go to Strasbourg to see her boyfriend, but never made it there.

Two witnesses saw her on the way to the station. Investigators know that she never got on the train. There have been extensive but so far fruitless searches, with the German police also involved at times.

dpa