Strasbourg, France: New owners renovating a house in eastern France made the shocking discovery of a human skeleton, likely that of a former owner who vanished 15 years ago, prosecutors announced on Monday.
"A corpse reduced to a skeleton was found on Saturday afternoon" in Erstroff, just across the border from the German city of Saarbrücken, said Olivier Glady, a prosecutor in the nearby town of Sarreguemines.
The remains were located "in a difficult-to-access spot under the roof, with an entrance that was almost hidden," Glady told AFP on Monday. The new owners had purchased the home in 2023 following the death of the former owner's widow and were renovating it when they made the grim discovery.
"While looking for the source of rainwater leaking into the roof structure, one of the owners entered the cubbyhole almost without realizing it and found the skeletal remains inside," Glady explained.
The body "is very likely" that of the former owner, who disappeared in 2009 at the age of 81, he added. Local police are now investigating the cause of death, and the remains have been sent to Strasbourg for forensic examination.
Regional newspaper Le Républicain Lorrain reported that the man's disappearance had remained unresolved despite numerous intensive searches of the area. His wife died in 2020, prompting the sale of the house.
"The scene where the body was found hints at suicide," prosecutor Glady said, noting that a rope was still hanging in the attic.
