Lucie, a 16-year-old teenager who disappeared in the Meuse, was found this Sunday, February 18, hidden in an apartment.
She had disappeared in Vavaincourt in the Meuse since February 4. Lucie, a 16-year-old teenager, was found safe and sound about twenty kilometers from her home on Sunday February 18. As announced by the public prosecutor of Bar-le-Duc, Sofian Saboulard, the teenager was found hiding “in the storage box of a sofa bed” in an apartment located in the surroundings of Ligny- en-Barrois, about 20 kilometers from his home in Vavaincourt.
The apartment where the teenager was found was already within the search perimeter set by the preliminary investigation opened shortly after the girl’s parents reported the disappearance. The prosecutor specified that “the technical investigations tended to demonstrate (…) the potential presence of Lucie in this apartment”. The teenager was able to be found thanks to the presence of a dog specialized in detecting human life, capable of detecting heat.
The prosecutor also added that it was in reality a runaway. Friday February 16, the Bar-le-Duc public prosecutor’s office opened a judicial investigation to “research the causes of the disappearance” of Lucie. A few days after Lucie’s disappearance, the young girl’s mother received a letter from her daughter posted on February 7 where it was written: “Mom, it’s Lucie, I’m fine and I’m safe (…) I’ll be back soon”. In a press release, the Bar-le-Duc public prosecutor’s office announced that hearings were then carried out as well as home visits undertaken. Video surveillance images were also used as part of the investigation. This had been entrusted to a group specially formed to investigate the disappearance of the teenager.
The young girl had already run away in the past, in January, notably when she was found at a friend’s house where she had turned off her cell phone. For now, the teenager is being questioned by the gendarmerie.