Swiss police today continued a huge manhunt for the missing husband of former Swiss World Cup skier Corinne Rey-Bellet, lone suspect in his pregnant wife's murder.
Investigating judge Philippe Medico issued an arrest warrant for Gerold Stadler after the 33-year-old champion and her brother Alain were shot dead in their parents' flat on Sunday night.
Their mother Vreni remained hospitalised in serious but stable condition after being shot five times in the attack which stunned the quiet Alpine hamlet of Les Crosets in Valais canton.
After Mr Stadler was seen leaving the flat with a gun late on Sunday, and Vreni Rey-Bellet had raised the alarm, police set up a roadblock in a tunnel when Stadler's car sped wildly past them, a police statement said this evening.
Police admitted they had then lost him in a high-speed chase reaching speeds of 145 mph on the motorway. The private banker's abandoned car, containing spent munitions, was later found.
"If he is alive, it is only a matter of time before he is caught," said Valais police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet who said that 70 agents had been deployed.
The couple, married four years ago, had separated 10 days ago. Their son Kevin was sleeping in the building during the family tragedy.
Ms Rey-Bellet was three months pregnant, while her brother Alain was to have married on Friday, Swiss Television reported.
Ms Rey-Bellet, who was training to be a physical therapist after retiring three years ago, had just begun teaching her 2-1/2 year old son to ski, the daily newspaper Le Matinreported.