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MISSING

Divers join search for missing French teen

Divers are to be deployed on Wednesday in the search for Chloe Rodriguez, a French teenager who went missing on Friday afternoon in Barjac in south-western France.

The divers from nautical brigades in Agde (Hérault) and Grau du Roi (Gard) will search water-holes in ten areas identified in the vicinity of the village, according to a report in the Midi Libre daily.

As the search for the teen entered its fifth day, volunteers and police continued to scour the terrain in the countryside east of Barjac. The volunteers have been divided into groups of 5 to 6 people, the newspaper reported.

The search has been extended nationwide for the teenager who disappeared in mysterious circumstances on Friday afternoon.

The 15-year-old apparently vanished without trace at around 5.30pm on Friday. Her moped was left at a friend's house some 10 kilometres from her home.

The vehicle was found at around 10pm with a cold engine.

The girl is described as being 1.59 metres tall, with a slim build, blue eyes, long light brown hair and pierced ears. At the time of her disappearance she was wearing jeans and a beige Adidas jacket with black sleeves.

Police in Barjac have called for any witnesses to contact a hotline on 04.66.24.50.27.

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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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