French Soldier Missing in N. America

The Associated Press

P A R I S, Oct. 21 — France has alerted Interpol about a French army deserter who is known as a marksman and is missing in North America. A Defense Ministry spokesman said there was speculation of a link to the investigation into the Washington-area sniper.

The 25-year-old second lieutenant, who was not identified, did not return to class in September at the elite military school, Saint-Cyr Coetquidan in Brittany, in western France, after going on vacation in August, officials said.

Interpol was notified of the disappearance of the officer, a normal procedure, and a judicial investigation was opened, which is also routine, said Defense Ministry spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau.

Bureau acknowledged there was some speculation of a connection with the sniper investigation, but he said that was just hypothetical at this point.

"We have no certitude of a link," he said in a telephone interview. However, he said, "This soldier has a very, very good reputation as a marksman."

And since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States, "these are things we follow very closely," he added.

Interpol, the international police agency based in the French city of Lyon, said it refuses to comment on active cases.

The deserter was given permission for an August trip to the United States and Canada, said Bureau. Police sources said he had planned a trip to Chicago.

RTL radio reported the deserter was of Yugoslav origin, but Bureau could not confirm that, saying that he had to be a French citizen to attend the military school.

After the missing officer never showed up for school in September, the gendarmerie, a force under the Defense Ministry, sent a note last week to the Interior Ministry. Interpol was then contacted, said Bureau.

-- Anonymous, October 21, 2002