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MISSING

Sigrid, 16, was random victim: police

Police believe 16-year-old murder victim Sigrid Giskegjerde Schjetne was likely selected at random by the men charged with killing her.

Sigrid, 16, was random victim: police
Well-wishers left flowers on Monday night at a kindergarten near the victim's home (Photo: Audun Braastad/Scanpix).

Oslo police have not found anything linking the murdered teenager with either of the two men arrested on Monday night at a workshop near where her body was found.

”We are investigating, and have investigated, all of our projects to see if there is a connection but as far we can tell she was a random victim,” said police inspector Hanne Kristin Rohde at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

Police launched a massive search operation after the girl disappeared on her way home from a friend’s house at around midnight on Saturday August 4th.

Her telephone, shoes, and a sock were later found near her home and witnesses reported hearing piercing screams.

Her body was found on Monday evening in a woodland area near a small industrial zone in Kolbotn, a small town 15 kilometres south of Oslo.

Police refused on Wednesday to disclose the cause of the girl’s death.

”It’s too early and could hamper our investigation,” said inspector Rohde.

Both men suspected of murdering Giskegjerde Schjetne deny the charges against them. The suspects, aged 37 and 64, claim they have alibis for the time she is believed to have gone missing.

The inspector said the police are still interested in receiving tips from members of the public.

”We believe we’re on the right track in the case, and have made a breakthrough, but much work remains,” said Rohde.

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SKIING

Spain mourns Blanca Fernández Ochoa, the Olympian skier found dead in Madrid’s sierra

The body of former Spanish alpine skimedallist Blanca Fernández Ochoa was found Wednesday in a mountainous area near Madrid after days of searches for her by hundreds of police and volunteers, officials said.

Spain mourns Blanca Fernández Ochoa, the Olympian skier found dead in Madrid's sierra
Archive photo of Blanca Fernández Ochoa during her Olympic career.

The 56-year-old — won a bronze skiing for Spain in the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, becoming the country's first female Winter Olympic medallist — had been missing since she was last spotted on surveillance video at a shopping centre on August 24th.

Her car was later found at a parking lot near the start of a hiking trail in Cercedilla, a mountainous village near Madrid. The authorities said they are still investigating the cause of her death.

“Solidarity, support and human warmth have been felt these days in the mountains of Cercedilla. Security forces and many volunteers have taken part in the search for Blanca Fernández Ochoa. But nothing could be done. My affection to all her family,” Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez tweeted.

Hundreds of police, firefighters, forest rangers and volunteers, backed by helicopters, drones and tracking dogs, had taken part in the search for Fernández Ochoa.

Her family only alerted the authorities about her disappearance on August 29th because they said it was not unusual for her to go on hikes in the area, even without her phone, according to Spanish media reports.

Police on Saturday issued an appeal on social media for help from the public in locating Fernández Ochoa along with a picture of her, which drew media attention to her disappearance.

She was well known in Spain, where she had taken part in several TV reality shows after retiring from sports.

Her older brother, Francisco Fernández Ochoa, won a gold medal for skiing in the 1972 Winter Olympics in Japan. He is the first and only Spaniard to have won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics.   

There is a statue in his honour in Cercedilla.   

Until 2018 the brother and sister were the only Spaniards to have won medals at a Winter Olympics.

“It is a very sad day for Spanish sports,” Spain's secretary of state for sports, Maria Jose Rienda, said in a statement.

READ ALSO: Snowboarder from Ceuta wins Olympic medal for Spain

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