Update, Friday 15 April 2011

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Dog-tracking searches using 11 specially trained dogs from Austria, France, Bern and Zurich continued Friday 15 April 2011 in various stretches along the Boiron river as well as along neighbouring properties in the communes (districts) of Tolochenaz and St Prex. Despite the large-scale search undertaken by Canton Vaud Police and partners, the search, which ended at 4 pm, did not provide any new material for the investigation, which is continuing in France and in Italy, as well as in Switzerland.

Canton Vaud Police organized, as part of the search for Alessia and Livia, Thursday 14 April and Friday 15 April 2011, a major dog-tracking search in Tolochenaz and Saint Prex, in canton Vaud. Background: 6 April, a witness alerted police to the presence of a man, pulling a suitcase in the area of the Boiron beach. This new element in the case, viewed in the light of technical elements in the case, were judged sufficiently important by investigators to undertake the large-scale search.

Searches carried out with two “St Hubert” dogs from the Lausanne municipal police department Wednesday 13 April did not provide information that could confirm or dismiss formally the presence of the father of the twins in this area. Following this, and working with support from the Civil Protection office, Morges commune police, the CGFr Border Guards and the Canton Geneva Police Lake Brigade, the police from canton Vaud organized a major search effort that involved 11 dogs specially trained to search for bodies. The dogs came from France, Austria, Bern and Zurich. The area being searched, approximately 2.3 kilometres long and 150-400 metres wide, was closed off, as was the nearby lake area. The Lake Brigade police from Vaud and Geneva carried out a minutieuse search around the mouth of the Boiron river and the lake zone, an area 300 metres wide and 700 metres long, starting from the mouth of the Boiron, with the help of a multibeam swath bathymetry system and an underwater remote-operated vehicle. At the same time, inspectors from the police criminal investigation unit made inquiries in the nearby area, interviewing 154 possible witnesses – at local dumps, professional fishermen, animal protection and fish protection authorities, rifle practice stands, etc. – who are often in the area or in areas close to the one being searched. Investigations carried out over these two days did not provide any likely leads or new information for the ongoing investigation, which is also continuing in France and Italy.

The team involved in roping off the area and in the search itself comprised: 55 men from the police in canton Vaud (gendarmes, inspectors and Lake Brigade specialists), 150 colleagues from the Vaud Civil Protection unit, 2 Canton Geneva Police Lake Brigade specialists, 11 dog handlers with 13 dogs from: the Austrian Police Dog unit with 6 men and 6 dogs (Diensthundewesen der Bundespolizei Oesterreich), the national dog tracking investigation unit from the French Gendarmerie in Gramat (2 men, 3 dogs), the Bern police (1 man with his dog) and Canton Zurich Police (1 man with his dog), as well as the Lausanne municipal police (1 man and 2 dogs), in addition to 2 police officers from the Morges commune police and 2 firefighters from the SPSL with a boat.

http://www.vd.ch/fr/autorites/departements/dse/police-cantonale/medias/communiques-de-presse/news/article/disparition-dalessia-et-de-livia-point-de-situation-du-vendredi-15-avril-2011/?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=26114&cHash=071c86189d