Case of Frenchwoman who disappeared in 1991 reopened

Marie-hélène Audoye, below, who went missing in 1991 lived on the Cote d’azur in southern France

body,” said Mrs Audoye in a statement issued through her lawyer Sophie Jonquet.

The case was initially declared closed in 2013, after investigators failed to find any trace of Ms Audoye.

Her mother has said she believes issues relating to her relationship at the time – her boyfriend, who she lived with – are key to the investigation.

Ms Audoye’s boyfriend was understood to be having an affair with a woman who was older than him, who had links to shadowy business dealings in the region. That woman was claimed to have made jealous threats relating to Ms Audoye, as well as leaving personal items such as hair clips in the couple’s flat.

Investigators at the time followedatheorythatmsaudoye had returned to her home in Cagnes-sur-mer, near Nice, after her last appointment – and had disappeared from there. Ms Audoye’s mother says her daughter had spoken to a friend on the phone earlier that morning about the possibility of leaving her boyfriend, due to his affair.

"We can consider that there was an altercation at home, with the possible intervention of the mistress and that things degenerated,” said Ms Jonquet.

The “mistress”, however, was not questioned by police until six years after Ms Audoye’s disappearance. Her boyfriend, known only in the media as Etienne, was questioned multiple times. However, Mrs Audoye’s lawyer says he changed his alibis and storyofhiswhereaboutsbetween interviews.

“We consider that the boyfriend is the Gordian knot of this case,” said Ms Jonquet.

DNA analysis – using a milk tooth belonging to Ms Audoye, which had been kept by her mother – is ongoing on a skull found in the nearby French commune of Vence.

In an interview with French newspaper Le Figaro, Mrs Audoye, now 78, said she was dedicating her life to resolving the case.

After her disappearance, Ms Audoye’s parentshiring a helicopter to search for their daughter. “You can’t forget your children. I would like us to find her body, I owe it to her,” Mrs Audoye said.