On Monday 22 April, the Belgian couple Laura Trappeniers (66) and Marc Olbrechts (71) are said to have gone to attend a yoga class on the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife, where the couple have lived for 16 years.
But the two never showed up for class.
When two days later they also did not show up for the next yoga class, the alarm went off among friends of the married couple. The Spanish authorities therefore issued a search warrant.
– Yellow plastic bag
On Wednesday 1 May, the Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reported that Laura was found dead on Saturday 27 April. However, the husband is still missing, it is reported.
Disappeared without a trace on a Spanish holiday island
According to sources for the Spanish newspaper El Dia, it must have been a local fisherman who found the body of Laura in the sea outside the village of Arico. The 66-year-old is said to have been found with a yellow plastic bag over his head.
The discovery site is about 50 kilometers from Callao Salvaje, where the couple lived.
FOUND: Laura Trappeniers is said to have been found with a plastic bag over her head, and with severed legs. Photo: CNDES
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The body in the sea is said to have been missing both legs and a hand. The body must have been badly decomposed after probably lying in the sea for two to four days, writes Het Laatste Nieuws in a recent article on Thursday.
Furthermore, they write that the autopsy concluded that the woman died as a result of a criminal act.
The Belgian newspaper, which quotes Spanish media, further points out that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not yet confirmed the information. The body is also not to be formally identified, but the police assume that it is the missing Laura Trappeniers who has been found, it is further said.
Unusual observations
Already on the first day the two did not show up for the aforementioned yoga class, several unusual observations were allegedly made in their home.
The man who maintains the couple’s swimming pool told the Belgian newspaper that there was a light on in the house and that the back door was unlocked. He also says that Laura’s mobile phone and keys were in the house, but that no one was home.
WANTED: Marc Olbrechts is still wanted. Photo: CNDES
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Nor was anyone arranged to look after the cat, which he also believes is very unlike the couple. At the same time, the car, a dark blue Opel Mokka, is gone.
– No, they did not go voluntarily, the man told the newspaper.
The Belgian authorities confirmed to the newspaper that they are aware of the case, and that they are cooperating with the Spanish authorities.
– Belgium’s Department of Foreign Affairs in Brussels and the Belgian Consulate in Tenerife continue to closely monitor the disappearance of the Belgian couple, a spokesperson in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the newspaper.
