“Above all, we ask that we not abandon them,” says one in every of their daughters | EUROtoday
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“Munfortunately, for the moment, my parents remain nowhere to be found. We don't know if they are alive or dead. Staying in this uncertainty is horrible…”, slips Johanna, between sobs. His mother and father, Laurent Blond, 58 years previous and Véronique Blond, 56 years previous, haven’t given any signal of life since March 16. Going on trip to the volcanic island of Madeira, off the northwest African coast, the couple from Beaumont-de-Lomagne (Tarn-et-Garonne) had deliberate to spend some high quality time with their daughter Johanna, 27 years.
But 4 days after their arrival, the couple, who ran a bakery of their hometown, disappeared for no obvious cause. Point spoke with their daughter Johanna, who mourns their absence. The public prosecutor in Montauban, Bruno Sauvage, opened an investigation right into a “disturbing disappearance”.
A “little digestive stroll”
“Hard workers”, within the phrases of their daughter Johanna, Laurent and Véronique Blond wished to flee from their French day by day life for a second on the Portuguese island. “They wanted to stay close to France. They are not comfortable with the idea of going far away, especially since they don’t really speak a foreign language,” provides Johanna. Madeira appeared like the right compromise.
Arriving on March 12, the three French individuals lived in a rental home within the small city of São Vicente, within the north of the island. The first days, vacationers went on a couple of hikes. “There was a range of places to visit that we wanted to visit,” remembers Johanna. It have to be stated that the island is famend for its magnificent hilly landscapes surrounded by water so far as the attention can see.
READ ALSO Disappearance of Émile: the thriller stays unsolved after a day of “situation” On Saturday March 16, 4 days after their arrival, Laurent and Véronique went for a stroll. It was 2:45 p.m. when the couple left their rental home. This was the final time Johanna noticed her mother and father. “They wanted to take a little digestive walk, just to enjoy the fresh air and the sun, while discovering the surroundings of the rental house,” she explains. For Johanna, there isn’t a doubt, the aim of this stroll was under no circumstances a sporty hike. Simple sneakers on their ft, Laurent and Véronique left with two “small” bottles of water in a backpack, a pockets and a telephone. Elements confirmed by the Montauban prosecutor in a press launch.
“Unfortunately, I can't tell you the precise location they intended to go, otherwise I would have found them. We talked about it a little at lunchtime, but without too many details. My father has a little taciturn side,” says Johanna. The younger lady stayed in her room, drained after two intense days of mountain climbing, based on her. At dusk, seeing her mother and father nonetheless absent, the younger lady tried to contact them. In useless, she alerted the Portuguese authorities round 8 p.m.
We should face the info, the probabilities are very slim of discovering them alive.
“We have no idea where they went”
On web site, the Portuguese police instantly started looking out. Johanna tried to assist the native authorities as a lot as doable, with out a lot success. She confesses in the midst of a query that she blames herself for not having accompanied them. “In hindsight, it might have helped us but it didn't, unfortunately,” she stated dryly.
According to her, the examination of the town's cameras was inconclusive. “We have no idea where they went,” whispers Johanna. As the Montauban prosecutor signifies, “significant search resources were immediately mobilized on site, including firefighters, local police and gendarmerie, civil protection, the maritime authority and the judicial police; the use of drones also quickly strengthened the system.” In France, the Castelsarrasin analysis brigade and the Beaumont-de-Lomagne gendarmerie have been concerned on this judicial investigation.
The search of the house and the phone inquiries didn’t permit any new parts to be delivered to the investigation, notes the prosecution. “The objective is to close all doors, particularly that of voluntary disappearance,” a supply near the investigation informed the Dispatch. A false path for the couple's daughters, who level out that that they had simply turn into grandparents for the primary time. The chance of an unintentional fall can also be being investigated.
On web site, analysis is slipping. A grocer reportedly informed the police that he noticed the couple round 4 p.m. on Avenida Marcos Marques Rosa in São Vicente, strolling in the direction of Porto Moniz, whereas the daddy's cellular phone rang one final time within the north of Madeira, inside a radius of round fifteen kilometers. A really giant space, which makes finishing up analysis extra complicated. The couple's household, nevertheless, regrets a scarcity of communication with the Portuguese authorities, now that Johanna has returned to France.
Research stopped
To date, as reported by the native Portuguese newspaper Dnoticias, analysis is at a standstill. “For the moment, the weather conditions do not allow the search to continue, it is suspended. We are working on the information and, depending on whether we have new information, we will decide whether or not to resume the research,” declared the commissioner in control of the case, João Góis, on Wednesday.
In addition, if the operation have been to renew, the search perimeter could be enlarged. But the commissioner is evident: “The possibility of not resuming research is on the table [s’il n’y a] no other evidence, no other information. » On BFMTV, Johanna's sister, Pauline Pasquer, confided, this Friday morning, sad and helpless, that “we have to face the facts, the chances are very slim of finding them alive”.
“Devastated and helpless”, the daughters of Laurent and Véronique Blond, Johanna and Pauline, ask individuals in transit within the area to maintain their eyes peeled within the occasion of the invention of data essential to the investigation. Johanna concludes, with a decent throat: “My mother and father are two bakers from Beaumont-de-Lomagne beloved by everybody, two nice lovers who love one another madly, who’ve all the time fought for my sister and me. We ask above all that we don’t abandon them, that we don’t allow them to sink into oblivion. »
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