Father of missing French woman frustrated by police investigation

Francis Bretnacher, father of a young French woman who disappeared in Budapest on December 4, is pressing kidnapping charges in a bid to accelerate the investigation, reports tabloid Blikk. The man said a month had been wasted because Hungarian investigators have been insisting that here disappearance had been the result of an accident. He fears the delay may have cost his daughter her life.

Ophélie was last seen on Lánchíd (Chain Bridge) on December 4. A friend of the family said she could not have fallen into the river, because her body would have already been found at Mohács or Bezdan in Serbia. The friend thinks she was pulled into a car on the bridge, as she was not seen leaving the bridge on foot.

Ophélie's father also said important data that could have helped investigation had been withheld from French authorities on the grounds of personal rights. These include footage recorded by surveillance cameras and his daughter's mobile phone call list.

Budapest Police said there was nothing to indicate Ophélie had been kidnapped. Police are now waiting for contact from two fishermen who were near Lánchíd the night the young woman disappeared.

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