With still no trace of missing nine-year-old Maelys de Aguiar – the daughter of a Portuguese emigré living in France and his French wife – French newspaper Dauphine Liberé has revealed that one of the men arrested last week has now been charged and placed in pre-trial custody on the basis of DNA traces discovered in his car.
Portuguese papers are repeating the Dauphine Liberé story which claims the ‘first’ man arrested last week – and released on Friday – was re-arrested as a result of tests on the car which purportedly flagged “traces of Maelys’ DNA in the passenger compartment”.
Whether the “passenger compartment” is the back seat or the passenger seat is not instantly clear.
What does appear clear is that the man had completely cleaned his car the day after Maelys went missing (click here), telling police this was because he was putting it up for sale.
Dauphiné Liberé says the man is now being questioned by investigating judges of the criminal division of Grenoble.
The paper claims he was charged and jailed on Sunday morning for the kidnapping of a minor, but that throughout the police grilling he maintained that he had nothing to do with any of it.
A press release issued by Grenoble’s County Court explains that the judges “were not convinced” – hence their decision to remand him in preventive custody.
Meantime, the desperate search for the little girl continues, with a second community effort on Sunday still coming up empty handed.
As all papers have reported throughout the week, police frogmen are searching all the waterways in the area, while boots on the ground are scouring the area.
