why the criminal track is considered

Karine Esquivillon has not given any sign of life for almost two months, forcing the La Roche-sur-Yon prosecutor’s office to open a judicial investigation against X has been opened for “kidnapping and forcible confinement”.

[Mis à jour le 21 mai 2023 à 17h30] Karine Esquivillon was last seen in Vendée, in the village of Maché, near Challans, on March 27. His phone, without a Sim card, was found in a carpooling area in the village. According to information from West France, Karine Esquivillon would have exchanged messages with her ex-husband, Michel Pialle until March 31. It was the latter who reported his disappearance on April 3.

On April 17, the investigations were entrusted to the Nantes gendarmerie research section, after the La Roche-sur-Yon prosecutor’s office opened a judicial investigation against X for “kidnapping and forcible confinement”.

Asked by BFM TV, the ex-husband indicated that Karine “was less present, her head was elsewhere”. According to him, “she left voluntarily, that’s for sure. On the other hand, what happened after is the total unknown”. A version that the sister of the disappeared disputed: “I don’t see my sister leaving like that, in the middle of the afternoon, before the children come home from school (…) She liked being at home, with her children,” she said, also on BFM TV.

A mysterious SMS sent to her husband

Her husband, Michel Pialle, detailed to the police his last day with Karine. He is the last to have seen her: “I was at the bottom of my land to try to find my cat who had run away, when I returned to the house, there was no trace of Karine. .” A few minutes later, he received this SMS, as he testified in Le Figaro: “I’m leaving, I can’t take it anymore to be two but no longer as a couple, they’re picking me up, I’ll pick up some stuff.” The couple had left the Paris region 18 years ago to settle in Vendée.

Michel then notices that his wife has disappeared with clothes, hygiene tools and the family record book. The husband was then convinced of her return: “I admit that I hadn’t noticed her preparing to leave, but since she’s a fearful person, I told myself that in three or four days she would be feedback.” The two lived under the same roof despite being separated for four years. Karine had not worked for several years to take care of their house and the two youngest children, including her deaf son. Her husband resells old objects from their home.

Her husband waited 6 days to report Karine missing

According to the father, the youngest daughter of the couple receives a last message from her mother on March 31: “She told my daughter that she will not hear from her for a few days because she is going to a hot country.” Two days later, Michel Pialle reported the disappearance of his wife to the gendarmerie. A troubling timing for justice. The police then raided the family home: telephones and computers were seized, the ashes from the fireplace were analyzed and the well was probed. The husband’s weapons are confiscated during the investigation: “I had weapons at home because I practiced shooting, but they were all declared, I do not feel accused, I opened my door without fear” -t-explained.

Eva-Louise, the eldest of Karine Esquivilion, is distraught: “I have no more news from her, not even a message for my birthday when I have a close relationship with her. A few weeks before, she spoke to come see me in the south with my father.” The laborious progress of the investigation does not help this family: “I am totally lost, I did not expect my mother to disappear, I do not understand.” Relatives of the missing spoke in Le Figaro. For them: “Karine is a homebody with an underdeveloped social life, extremely fearful and suspicious”.

A neighbor declares having seen Karine accompanied by “a person met on the networks”

So, the hypothesis of an online meeting, as mentioned by a neighbor, does not hold for her relatives: “She would never have followed a person, it’s impossible. In addition, she hated social networks or dating so I don’t see her chatting all night with one person.”

His daughter also does not believe in a voluntary departure: “My mother took care of my little deaf brother a lot, she did homework with him, she would never have let him go. My mother did not even know how to put on loudspeaker , then I can assure you that she would not know how to remove a SIM card.” One of her other children shares her dismay: “We have no leads, it’s terrible. We don’t know if we should grieve or hope that she comes back.”

The investigation seems to have stalled

This disappearance upsets the town: presence of helicopters, numerous police patrols. Mayor Frédéric Rager spoke to France Bleu: “We know this family since they have lived in the town for twenty years, but they are very discreet people who live far from the town. We hardly ever saw them. The gendarmerie is investigating. It is necessarily something that questions and worries. All I hope is that the outcome will be happy”.

According to the call for witnesses issued by the Loire-Atlantique gendarmerie, Karine Esquivillion is 1m67 tall, has black, mid-length and curly hair. She is of European type and has a long tattoo representing seven fleur-de-lis on the kidneys. When she disappeared, she wore fancy gold earrings and rings on both hands. If you have information to help investigators, contact 0800 877 668 (freephone number – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week).