Mysterious disappearance of a young woman in the West Indies, an ongoing investigation

It is a mysterious disappearance that has been shaking the tropics for two months.

Marion Hermier, 26, disappeared in February 2023 when she embarked alone on one of the longest and perilous hikes on Dominica Island, in the West Indies.

An island country in the Caribbean archipelago, the peninsula, a member of the British Commonwealth, is located between Martinique and Guadeloupe, where the young woman then resided.

Before leaving, she had warned her parents that she would not be reachable for a fortnight.

, ”reports to

the lawyer for his relatives, Me Richard Sédillot.

For the moment, all the hypotheses are still possible, from the accidental fall to the bad encounter.

Several testimonials

Marion Hermier arrived on the island by catamaran.

She anchored in Prince Rupert Bay, off the small town of Portsmouth, north of Dominica.

On February 5, the hiker was formally identified by her father on CCTV camera images where she can be seen in front of a bank in Portsmouth.

Other witnesses, including a taxi driver and a couple of Swiss tourists, claim to have seen her.

One of them certifies having seen her in Valley Road, in the south of the island, when the others report having recognized her in Laudat, a small village between three mountains located 60 kilometers from Portsmouth.

But these testimonies remain imprecise, underlines the lawyer.

Warned by their daughter that there was no point in trying to reach her for two weeks, her father and mother therefore only tried to contact her from February 20.

Without success.

An investigation was therefore opened by the public prosecutor of Valence, before the prosecution of Basse-Terre was seized.

The investigations are entrusted to the gendarmerie of Saint-Claude, in Guadeloupe.

Dense tropical vegetation that complicates research

French authorities have intervened three times for searches, according to

.

Relatives of the girl made the trip from France.

In vain.

However, the local security forces have brought out the heavy artillery: helicopters, gendarmes, dog teams, etc.

But no trace of Marion.

It must be said that the research area is complex.

Especially since the island is a jungle with a humid climate, where traces are quickly erased by bad weather.

This is particularly the case of the Waikutubili Trail, the path that Marion Hermier intended to take: seasoned hikers must cross 185 kilometers of merciless mangroves rooted in the placid waters of the Indian River.

Then you have to pass under a thick canopy of tropical trees that shelter iguanas, crabs and herons.

It is therefore not easy for volunteers and investigators to make their way through this dense and abundant vegetation.

Marion Hermier was a regular on hikes.

Facebook screenshot

Slow-motion investigations

Two months after his disappearance, his relatives continue to mobilize.

The parents of the young girl, Alain and Fanny Hermier, as well as her sister, Maya Hermier, notably wrote a letter to the attention of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, hoping to make the government react to the urgency of the situation. .

The family also launched an appeal on social networks.

“

, ”deplores Mr. Sédillot.

A situation all the more delicate as time plays against the investigators on this type of case.

"

“, still plague the defender of Hermier.

The latest investigations date back a fortnight.

Others should have been carried out this weekend.

But, in the absence of the gendarmes, the search was canceled.

Chef, truck driver, truck mechanic... The young girl with multiple hats wanted to take up this sporting challenge alone, even though the locals themselves only venture there in groups.

Describing "

" and "

", Me Sédillot depicts a woman "

".

When she arrived on the island, Marion Hermier had put on a black and yellow backpack.

Note that she has a distinctive sign: she wears a tattoo in the shape of a small crescent moon on the top of her forehead.