Lina has been missing for over nine months now. The 15-year-old vanished on 23 September 2023 when she was on her way to the train station of Saint-Blaise-la-Roche in the French region of Bas-Rhin to meet her boyfriend Tao, in Strasbourg.
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The investigation to find the young girl continues but so far to no avail. New leads and theories keep rising, and members of her family have also given their own opinions and comments on her disappearance. On 1 March 2024, her mother spoke out and revealed details that she herself had just discovered.
Lina's mother speaks out
In 2022, Lina filed a complaint against two adult men and accused them of sexually abusing her. Referring back to the complaint, Lina's mother Fanny Groll, said that the case greatly affected the young girl's reputation. She said:
There's gossip. Apparently, these two people were bragging about having had sex with her.
She has a bad reputation, which I'm discovering now, because she didn't tell me about it. All I know is that this reputation has been poisonous.
According to her, this targeted attack on her and her reputation was certainly present long before her disappearance. Indeed, Lina had her motorcycle stolen twice in just two months.
Suspicious thefts
Fanny Groll recalled the first time she thought someone was going after her daughter. She said it when Lina's motorcycle, one that 'she cherished like the apple of her eye' went missing.
One day, when I tried to put my car in the garage... No more motorcycle. We filed a complaint.
She continued:
I immediately thought there was a problem. If it was done while we were on holiday, they must have known we were away. I really think someone's out to get her. And really, word for word, I'm telling the police.
What happened to 15-year-old Lina?
Months after this revelation, the enigma surrounding the disappearance of 15-year-old Lina Delsarte persists. Despite intensive searches and ongoing investigations, the circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain mysterious.
Let's take a look back at the facts and developments in this case, nine months after the start of the investigation that has the community of Saint-Blaise-La-Roche on edge.
The day of her disappearance
On September 23, 2023, this 15-year-old girl's life was turned upside down. On her way to the Saint-Blaise-la-Roche train station to join her boyfriend Tao in Strasbourg, she disappeared without a trace.
On the day of the disappearance, Lina, who has got light brown hair and is 1.60 m tall, was a teenager with no history of running away. She regularly took the route between her home in Champenay and the Saint Blaise-la-Roche train station—a route she knew well.
That day, however, something went wrong. Witnesses last saw her between 11:15 and 11:30, and her phone gave a final signal at 11:22. Surveillance cameras showed no trace of her on the train she was planning to take.
On the Saturday afternoon of her disappearance, the police put out a wanted poster, triggering search parties, telephone enquiries, and the use of search dogs, helicopters and drones.
Despite these efforts, no trace of Lina has been found, fueling the anxiety and mystery surrounding her disappearance.
A new emerging lead
Two months after the start of the case, the Strasbourg research unit searched the house of a man living near the site of the disappearance. Although he was not considered a suspect, the search was carried out to clear out any suspicions and it did raise new questions.
The Strasbourg magistrates who took over the investigation qualified the case as a kidnapping.
Current leads
In March 2024, the Strasbourg Public Prosecutor's Office indicated that no lead has been either favoured or ruled out. They did suggest however, that it is most likely a criminal case. Investigators are still trying to figure out why Lina never got on the train, and are hoping to solve this disappearance that has left the community in suspense.
The case of Lina Delsarte's disappearance remains unsolved, despite extensive searches and leads explored by investigators. Lina's relatives, the local community and the police continue to hope for answers.
Nine months after that fateful day, the mystery persists, and the shadow of doubt hangs over the life of this young girl who should have joined her boyfriend in Strasbourg.
Lina is actively sought by police
The search for Lina has mobilised authorities and citizens alike. The police have even recorded the licence plates of those questioned, in order to find out how everyone spent their time on September 23rd.
This information will be confronted with recordings from surveillance cameras recently searched, providing investigators with an opportunity to move forward.
At the same time, a group of volunteers made up of mothers, strangers to the young girl, continued their sweep of the region, concentrating their efforts in the forest of Saint-Blaise-la-Roche, the site of the teenager's disappearance.
Two of them spoke to BFMTV Alsace of their conviction that Lina is not far away, underlining the importance of maternal solidarity in the search for the missing girl:
We can feel that she's not far away. We have to find her. We're mothers too, and if our child were to disappear, we'd want someone to look for her.
A revenge kidnapping?
An appeal for witnesses was issued to parents of pupils at Lina's former school, to gather information about a suspicious individual, aged around twenty, who was seen in a grey vehicle.
Furthermore, a revelation in Le Nouveau Détective (a French magazine) indicates that two years before her disappearance, Lina had filed a rape complaint. The case was dismissed.
While a number of leads are being explored, the same magazine puts forward the hypothesis of revenge.
Despite her young age, Lina had no shortage of enemies in the Bruche valley. All of which suggests that this may well have been a targeted kidnapping.
On Friday 2 February 2024, the teenager's mother broke her silence at a press conference. Among other things, she confessed to living through a terrible ordeal, but always remaining hopeful.
The situation is unbearable and I sometimes think I'm going through hell.
She also spoke directly to her daughter, hoping she can maybe hear her from wherever she is being kept:
Fight, hang in there and come back soon. I love you.
A concert was organised in support of Lina's family
On Saturday April 20, almost seven months after Lina's disappearance, the town of Plaine, where her relatives live, organised a concert in her support. Over 400 people attended, and the Why Not band, close to the teenager's family, took to the stage. An event created by the charity of the girl's mother, Les Bonnes Etoiles de Lina (Lina's Good Stars), to help pay for the legal costs and the search.
The concert was met with astonishment, with some going so far as to accuse the performers of 'celebrating Lina's disappearance', which they promptly denied. The police, for their part, hoped that the evening would bring new suspects to light. The gendarmes wondered if they'd be able to learn more from the crowd. In the end, the event went smoothly and nothing unusual was spotted.
Her father spoke for the first time
Seven months after the tragedy, Lina's father decided to speak out for the first time. In the columns of the Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace newspaper, he shared his emotions and dismay at the absence of his daughter, while remaining hopeful that she would be found safe and sound.
It's not easy. Not knowing is frustrating, of course. But on the other hand, it leaves the door open to a certain amount of hope.
However, the more time passes, the more this hope 'diminishes'.
Deep down, I have my suspicions...
The situation remains trying for the family, who continues to search for answers and hope in this troubling case. The absence of Lina Delsarte continues to raise questions and speculation, even nine months after her disappearance. Despite active searches by the authorities and the mobilisation of the community, no trace of the teenager has yet been found. This situation leaves an unbearable void for her family and friends, who never cease to hope for her return.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, then corrected, proofread and improved by our journalists.
This article has been translated from Oh!MyMag FR.
Read more:
Missing French teen Lina: A suspect finally talks after being questioned for 4 hours
Missing French teen: New theory involves a middle-aged woman who 'had a hold' on Lina
Missing French teen: Police investigating murder from a week before Lina's disappearance
Sources used:
BFMTV Alsace: "SOIS FORTE ET NE LÂCHE RIEN": LE PETIT AMI ET LA MÈRE DE LINA S'EXPRIMENT HUIT MOIS APRÈS SA DISPARITION
Dernières nouvelles d'Alsace: « Plus le temps passe, plus l’espoir s’amenuise »: le père de l’adolescente s’exprime pour la première fois
