Security camera footage led police to the landfill site where more forensic evidence has been discovered.
Strasbourg, France (AP) – Authorities began searching a landfill Monday for Heidi Planck, a German backpacker who went missing nine years ago while hiking in this eastern French resort.
More than 10 years ago, the body of a woman was found in a burn pit not far from the French village of Saint-Simeon, near the Belgian border. Authorities say this body is that of Planck.
The young woman’s boyfriend, Daniel Horszine, is a prime suspect in her disappearance. He was arrested last year in his home country of Germany and still under investigation there for her killing.
Authorities weren’t ready to release any details about the latest discovery or about a man named Franco Bochso, who was detained at the same landfill site a year ago. French authorities said a canine dog first detected new evidence at a landfill in June.
Video from security cameras showed a man matching Bochso’s description in a dark jacket and bag. Police have received more than 160,000 tips about Planck’s disappearance.
The police force handling the case was worried for Planck’s family, who “gave up hope” that their daughter would be found alive, said Catherine Bachau, spokeswoman for the Snedeseler, or Hesse, police force.
Bachau added that “a wild goose chase no longer seems necessary” because “the prisoner is still being held.”
German law allows for suspects to be transferred between countries if no country offers a speedy trial and a prison is available. Bochso is being held in jail in the northern German city of Witten near Bremen.
This is the first-ever criminal investigation launched by France, Bachau said.