Disappearance of Erwan Blais: where is the investigation ?

More than a week after the disappearance of Erwan Blais in Deux-Sevres, the nightclub where he was é last seen announced its reopening, provoking the anger of the young man's family.

The search has continued since February 11 and the disappearance of Erwan Blais. An investigation into "disturbing disappearance" was é opened by the Niort public prosecutor's office. À At this stage, still no lead is privileged. The authorities launched Monday 12 fé issue a wanted notice after the disappearance of the 18-year-old. He was é seen &agrav; the exit of a nightclub called La Morinière à Moncoutant-sur-S&evre, in Deux-S&evres, on the night of Saturday 10 to Sunday 11 February, around 2h30. The investigators indicated  that this is the last place where his phone would have been damaged. geocalis.

According to Le Courrier de l'Ouest, the family of Erwan Blais filed a statement a complaint against the managers of the nightclub "for negligence" and "non-assistance à person in danger. For Erwan's loved ones, all the conditions were not met to ensure his safety, even though he would have been ;eacute;té put &agrav; the door by a security agent &agrav; following a minor incident. An exit from the club which, however, took place without violence. The fact remains that the young man, who was rather drunk at the time, had found himself in trouble. alone, without his friends, in the parking lot of the nightclub. He was no longer there. seen again since. "We never should have “taking Erwan out of the disco like that, without anyone with him”, lamented the father of the disappeared near La Nouvelle République. "He doesn' éwasn't that drunké that (…). There are many failings and lies in this matter. We put him in danger. It is for this reason that we carried' complaint, so that the prosecution can manage it, he then clarified. "We have nothing " blame himself", from his sideé assured one of the co-managers of the nightclub.  

Despite Following this complaint, the manager of the nightclub decided to investigate it. to reopen its doors this weekend, while the establishment remained closed. closed since Erwan's disappearance. The establishment has in fact post-war the weekend program on its Facebook page. Those close to Erwan took the news very badly. In a Facebook post, they expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation this decision. Erwan's mother-in-law even added, with'Actu.fr, that she did not understand "the absence of administrative or judicial closure" of the club.

The search continues

Until'à So far, research has yielded nothing. in the field. On Tuesday February 13, the searches were already underway. accelerated, reported BFMTV, according to which a drone as well as divers were mobilized. The news channel also claimed that the number of gendarmes on the case had been increased. multiplied by three. Thus, while around twenty gendarmes were in place Tuesday morning, no less than 63 were on the bridge in the afternoon , specified a press release. of the public prosecutor. But research has à new summer vain.

The gendarmes continued the search on Wednesday and Thursday, particularly in the Pescalis park in Moncoutant-sur-Sevre, which is none other than the largest business park in the world. nature and fishing in Europe. It is locatedé not far from the nightclub where was é last seen alive for the last time Erwan Blais this weekend. The authorities have also expanded the search area. Vendée is now part of the investigations, particularly in the neighboring municipalities of the Deux-Sèvres department. 

On Friday, around forty gendarmes were arrested. newly mobilized. À Alongside them, the La Rochelle nautical brigade, as well as two all-terrain motorcycles and a drone, had specified BFMTV. Thursday, between 60 and 70 gendarmes were on the bridge. In addition to the La Rochelle nautical brigade, a helicopter supported them. Without success unfortunately.

The Niort public prosecutor's office then announced; in a press release this Tuesday, January 20, that a “worrying disappearance of judicial information” was now open to continue research. "À at the end of the eight-day period provided for in this document. Article 74-1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure relating to the investigation of suspected disappearances aunt, Erwan Blais was not found and the circumstances of his disappearance have not been clarified. lucid despite this “the significant resources involved,” he said. in the press release. This means that the Niort investigating judge takes the investigation in hand and has all investigative powers in this case.

An incident in a nightclub just before the disappearance of Erwan Blais

According to BFMTV, the young man would have left the discotheque where he was partying with his friends around 2:30 a.m. He would then appear in CCTV footage from the nightclub. “We see him crossing the nightclub parking lot, then more nothing &agrav; “because of a spotlight which dazzles the camera,” explained her mother-in-law Karine to her husband. the news channel, specifying that Erwan is a rather balanced teenager, comfortable in his sneakers, with a classic life of a young person continuing his studies. He's a young man like so many others." In any case his phone would have stopped. broadcast around 2:50 a.m.

Alongside Ouest-France, a friend of Erwan Blais, who was with him on the evening of the disappearance, also returned to the events. Assuring that the young man has not arrived drunk in a nightclub, but that he had, like him, "simply a little drunk", he confided s'' Be, during the evening, separated from each other. of him going to see other friends. It was only at the end of the evening, when the nightclub emptied, that it would have been reported his absence. This would be followed by numerous searches in and around the nightclub, without success, before a call to the police. the gendarmerie.

A track leading à a studied parking lot

The track of a parking lot was mentioned by the investigators. "We have achieved" a tracking Sunday and Monday with two dog teams, which take us to the same place, at namely the parking lot of the restaurant Le Saint-Pierre", thus revealed the gendarmerieé nbsp;à our colleagues from 20 Minutes.

But this path remains fragile. Once we arrived at the parking lot, "we lost track of the young man”, said this same source. According to the daily, it is in this parking lot that Erwan would have parked his car. his vehicle before going, to on foot, in the nightclub, located next door. 500 meters from there. A helicopter therefore arrived. missioned by the police. Objective: "to fly over the shoulders of the roads, in caseù the young man would have beené hit by a vehicle,” said the gendarmerie, which however indicates that this “did not result in anything.” . Ponds in the surrounding area as well as the S&evre Niortaise have also been restored. surveyed by a nautical brigade. 

The family increasingly worried

The young man's family opened a Facebook page dedicated to his research allowing &agrav; Anyone who has information can share it with us. the family and the authorities. In a Facebook post, the sister of the missing person specifiedé that Erwan was wearing "black jeans, a dark green Nike sweatshirt, black and white sneakers" at the time of his disappearance.

Her mother-in-law Karine, deeply distraught, confided in her from BFMTV. Despite Despite her worry, she keeps hope and continues the fight: "It's vital, we can't even imagine sitting still at home. to wait for. We try to find something, the slightest element. "If we had hope, we stop everything, we collapse", she adds with emotion.  The family would imagine "everything that could have happened to him, whether it was the accident, the bad encounter, whether he was stuck in his life or not. , stuck, injured somewhere, he can't get around, his cell phone is broken, we consider everything and its opposite.

"We have no lead, we have no element that can allow us to give us an orientation or to “I have to favor one path rather than another, so it's very difficult,” she confided. &agrav; BFMTV this Sunday February 18, seven days after the young man's disappearance. on his Facebook page having found; a specialist lawyer to support them in this matter.