Judge extends custody of man over French girl's disappearance

LYON - 1 September 2017: A French judge on Friday extended the remand in custody of a man being held over the disappearance of a nine-year-old girl from a wedding in the Alps last weekend.

The suspect, a 34-year-old friend of the groom, was at the wedding at the time that Maelys de Araujo disappeared in the early hours of Sunday morning, officials said Thursday.

The wedding took place at a community hall in Pont-de-Beauvoisin, a village some 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Grenoble. The suspect did attend but arrived late, a source close to the investigation told AFP on Thursday shortly after he was detained.

His remand in custody was extended for 24 hours.

French investigators, who have opened a kidnapping investigation, are trying "to clarify the activities of this person who was absent during the evening in a period that could correspond with Maelys's disappearance," the magistrate said.

At the same time, police are still searching for any trace of the child who has now been missing for nearly six days.

Since Sunday, police have interviewed about 250 people, including most of the 180 guests at the wedding, as well as several others who attended parties held the same night at a nearby bar and church hall.