01 / Public archive

Press

Rambouillet: two OFB officers missing and herd of wild boar found slaughtered

Two officers disappear during a night-time assignment in the forest of Rambouillet.

Date
SourceFrance Nature Actualités
AuthorMathieu Ferret
CategoryLocal news

02 / Full document

Two officers from the Office français de la biodiversité have been missing since Sunday night in the forest of Rambouillet. They are Claire Vautrin, a senior environmental inspector, and Nicolas Ferrand, a senior environmental technician. The two officers were carrying out a night-time wildlife monitoring assignment when they stopped responding to calls from their department. Their vehicle was found early in the morning on a forest track, locked but empty. A few hundred metres away, search teams discovered the bodies of around six wild boar, apparently from the same herd. The animals bore deep bites and injuries that may be consistent with an attack by large canids. Several prints found in damp ground were reportedly of an unusual size for wolves observed in France, but the OFB is urging caution until analysis is complete. A major search operation has been deployed, involving gendarmes, forestry officers and dog teams. Several paths have been temporarily closed to the public. Residents say they heard howling during the night. At present, there is no evidence formally linking these reports to the disappearance of the two officers.