AN INTERNATIONAL search for twin girls whose father apparently killed himself was broadened yesterday as Swiss police searched homes, boats and the waters of Lake Geneva.
Matthias Kaspar Schepp (43), was found dead near a railway station near Bari, southern Italy last week. He had picked up his daughters, Alessia and Livia (6), from their mother’s home in Lausanne on January 28th. He then drove through France and Italy.
Authorities believe Mr Schepp, a Swiss resident of Canadian origin who was separated from his wife, threw himself under a train. About 40 Swiss police investigators, with officers from France and Italy, are involved in the search for the girls, who lived with their mother, Irina Lucidi (44).
Swiss police said police in Marseilles had established that Mr Schepp bought tickets for himself and his daughters to catch a ferry to Propriano, Corsica, but they were unable to determine whether they had boarded it.
Swiss police searched the parents’ homes and spoke to people in 60 residences in St-Sulpice, near Lausanne. They examined four boats in the nearby ports of Morges and Vidy along Lake Geneva, and petrol stations between St-Sulpice and Geneva, about 50km away.
A helicopter swept over the lake yesterday. “For now, these controls have failed to track down the two girls,” Swiss police spokesman Jean-Christophe Sauterel said.
Police said yesterday they believed Mr Schepp drove the girls in a Swiss-registered black Audi A6 through Annecy, France, and to Marseille last week.
Both girls were described as wearing glasses and blue jeans, with Alessia dressed in a white jacket over a striped shirt and Livia dressed in a purple ski jacket over a green T-shirt. Authorities have urged anybody with information to come forward.
– (Guardian service)